LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 

PRESENTED  BY 

Mr.    H.    H.    Kiliani 


JiCSB   LIBRARY 


Edition 


THE  WORKS 


OF 


BAYARD  TAYLOR 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL 


TRAVELS  IN  GREECE  AND  RUSSIA 


tr 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

STREET  24 

Knickerbocker 


NEW   YORK  LONDON 

9J  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD   STREET  24    BEDFORD   STREET,   STRAND 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL 

SUMMER   AND   WINTER   PICTURES 
SWEDEN,  DENMARK   AND    LAPLAND 


BAYARD   TAYLOR 


AUTHOR'S  REVISED  EDITION 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress.  In  the  year  1857,  by 


in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Souther* 
District  of  New  York. 


COPYRIGHT  BY 
MARIE    TAYLOR 

1882 


PREFACE. 


THIS  book  requires  no  farther  words  of  introduction  that 
those  with  which  I  have  prefaced  former  volumes — that  my 
object  in  travel  is  neither  scientific,  statistical,  nor  politico 
economical  ;  but  simply  artistic,  pictorial, — if  possible, 
panoramic.  I  hare  attempted  to  draw,  with  a  hand  which, 
I  hope,  has  acquired  a  little  steadiness  from  long  practice, 
the  people  and  the  scenery  of  Northern  Europe,  to  colour 
my  sketches  with  the  tints  of  the  originals,  and  to  invest 
each  one  with  its  native  and  characteristic  atmosphere.  In 
order  to  do  this,  I  have  adopted,  as  in  other  countries,  a 
simple  rule  :  to  live,  as  near  as  possible,  the  life  of  the  peo- 
ple among  whom  I  travel.  The  history  of  Sweden  and 
Norway,  their  forms  of  Government,  commerce,  productive 
industry,  political  condition,  geology,  botany,  and  agricul- 
ture, can  be  found  in  other  works,  and  I  have  only  touched 
upon  such  subjects  where  it  was  necessary  to  give  complete 


v  PREFACE. 

ness  to  my  pictures.  I  have  endeavoured  to  give  photo- 
graphs, instead  of  diagrams,  or  tables  of  figures;  and  desire 
only  that  the  untravelled  reader,  who  is  interested  in  the 
countries  I  visit,  may  find  that  he  is  able  to  see  them  by 
the  aid  of  my  eyes. 

BAYARD  TAYLOR. 

LONDON  :    November,  1857. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  L 

A  WINTER  VOYAGE  ON  THE  BALTIC. 

Embarking  at  Lubeck— Put  into  a  Hut — The  Company  on  Board- 
Night  on  the  Baltic— Ystad— A  Life  Lost — Stopped  by  Ice— A  Gale— 
The  Swedish  Coast — Arrival  at  Dalaro — Conscientious  Custom-Houst 
Officer.  .......  Page  13 

CHAPTER  IL 

STOCKHOLM — PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  NORTH. 

Departure  in  Sleds— A  Meteor— Winter  Scenery — Swedish  Post-Station* 
— View  of  Stockholm — Arrival — Stockholm  Weather — Swedish  Ignor- 
ance of  the  North — Funds — Equipment.  ....  81 

CHAPTER  HI 

FIRST  EXPERIENCES  OF   NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

(L  Swedish  Diligence — Aspect  of  the  Country — Upsala — A  Fellow-Pa* 
§enger — The  Northern  Gods — Scenery — Churches — Peasant's  Houses 
— Arrival  at  Gefle — FOrbwl  Papers — Speaking  Swedish — Daylight  at 
Gefle — A  Cold  Italian— Experience  of  Skjuts  and  Fdrbud—  We  reach 
Snow — Night  Travel — An  Arabic  Landlord — A  Midnight  Chase— 
Quarters  at  Bro— The  Second  Day— We  reach  SundsvalL  .  9) 


flfi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A   SLEIGH  RIDE  THROUGH  NORRLAND. 

SundsTsll  and  the  Non-landers — Purchase  Sleighs — Start  again — Driving 
on  the  Ice — Breakfast  at  Fjal — Twilight  Hymn — Angermannland — A 
Bleak  Day — Scenery  of  Norrland — Postillions — Increase  of  Cold — Dark 
Travel— The  Norrland  People— The  Country  and  its  Products— North- 
era  Thanks— Umea— The  Inn  at  Innertafle.  Page  38 

CHAPTER  V. 

PROGRESS   NORTHWARD — A   STORM. 

Christmas  Temperature — First  Experience  of  intense  Cold — Phenomena 
thereof— Arctic  Travel — Splendour  of  the  Scenery — The  Northern 
Nature — Gross  Appetites — My  Nose  and  the  Mercury  Frozen — Dreary 
Travel— Skelleftea  and  its  Temple— A  Winter  Storm— The  Landlady 
at  Abyn — Ploughing  out — Travelling  in  a  Tempest — Reach  Pitea.  50 

CHAPTER  VI. 

JOURNEY  FROM  PITEA  TO  HAPARANDA. 

Torment — Under  the  Aurora  Borealis — A  Dismal  Night — Around  tht 
Bothnian  Gulf — Forest  Scenery — Mansbyn — The  Suspicious  Iron- 
Master — Brother  Horton  and  the  Cold — A  Trial  of  Languages — An- 
other Storm — New  Year's  Day — Entrance  into  Finland — The  Finns — 
Haparanda.  .......  68 

CHAPTER  VH. 

CROSSING  THE  ARCTIC  CIRCLE. 

Medical  Treatment — The  Kind  Fredrika — Morals  in  the  North — Om 
Quarters  at  Haparanda — Vain  Questions — Start  for  Lapland — Arctic 
Daylight — Campbell's  TorneS — A  Finnish  Inn — Colours  of  the  Arctic 
Sky — Approach  to  Avasaxa — Crossing  the  Arctic  Circle — An  After 
noon  Sunset — Reception  at  Juoxcngi.  .  .  .79 


CONTENTS.  |2 

CHAPTER  VHL 

ADVENTURES  AMONG  THE  FINNS. 

'oorney  up  the  Tornea — Wonders  of  the  Winter  Woods — Lapps  and 
Reindeer — My  Finnish  Vocabulary — A  Night  Journey — Reception  at 
Kengis — Continue  the  Journey — Finnish  Sleds — A  Hard  Day — The 
Inn  at  Jokijalka — Its  Inmates — Life  in  a  Finnish  Hut — An  Arctic 
Picture — A  Frozen  Country — Kihlangi — A  Polar  Night — Parkajoki — 
We  reach  Muoniovara.  .  .  .  Page  82 

CHAPTER  IX. 
LIFE  IN  .LAPLAND. 

Reception  at  Muoniovara — Mr.  Wolley — Our  Lapland  Home — A  Fin 
nish  Bath— Send  for  Reindeer — A  Finnish  House — Stables  —  The 
Reindeer  Pulk — My  first  Attempt  at  driving  Reindeer — Failure  and 
Success — Muonioniska — View  from  the  Hill — Fears  of  an  old  Finn — 
The  Discovery  of  America — A  Lapp  Witch — Reindeer  Accident.  98 

CHAPTER  X. 
A  REINDEER  JOURNEY  ACROSS   LAPLAND 

Preparations  for  the  Journey — Departure — A  lazy  Deer — "  Long  Isaac" 
— An  Auroral  Spectacle — A  Night  at  Palajoki — The  Table-Land  of 
Lapland — Sagacity  of  the  Deer — Driving  a  wild  Reindeer — Polar 
Poetry — Lippajarvi — Picture  of  a  Lapp — The  Night — A  Phantom 
Journey — The  Track  lost — A  Lapp  Encampment — Two  Hours  in  a 
Lapp  Tent — We  start  again — Descent  into  Norway — Heavy  Travel- 
Lapp  Hut  in  Siepe — A  Fractious  Reindeer — Drive  to  Kautokeino.  101 

CHAPTER  XI 
KAUTOKEINO — A  DAY  WITHOUT  A  SUN 

Lapland  Etiquette — The  Inn — Quarters  at  the  Lansman  s — Situation  'A 
Kautokeino — Climate — Life — Habits  of  the  Population — Approach  ol 
Sunrise — Church  Service  in  Lapland — Cold  Religion — Noonday  with- 
vat  Sunrise — The  North  and  the  South — A  Vision — Visits  of  the  Lapps 


X  CONTENTS. 

— Lars  Kaino — A  Field  for  Portrait-painting — C  haracter  of  the  Lapp 
Race — Their  present  Condition — The  religious  Outbreak  at  Kauto 
keino — Pastor  Hroslef— A  Piano  in  Lapland — The  Schools — Visit  to 
ft  Gamtne  ...  ...  Page  136 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

THE  RETURN  TO  MUONIOVARA. 

Advantages  of  Lapp  Costume — Turning  Southward — Departure  from 
Kautokeino — A  Lapp  Hut — Religion — The  Reindeer — Their  Qualities 
— Treatment  by  the  Lapps — Annoyances  of  Reindeer  Travel — Endur 
ance  of  Northern  Girls— The  Table-Land— The  "  Roof  of  the  World" 
— Journey  to  Lippajarvi — Descent  to  the  Muonio — Female  Curiosity 
— The  Return  to  Muoniovara — P-rosaic  Life  of  the  Lapps — Modern 
Prudery.  .....  .141 

CHAPTER  XTIL 

ABOUT  THE   FINNS. 

Change  of  Plans — Winter  in  Lapland — The  Finns — Their  Physical  Ap 
pearance — Character — Drunkenness — A  Spiritual  Epidemic — Morality 
— Contradictory  Customs — Family  Names  and  Traditions — Apathy  of 
Northern  Life — The  Polar  Zone — Good  Qualities  of  the  Race — An 
English  Naturalist.  ......  164 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

EXPERIENCES  OF  ARCTIC   WEATHER. 

Departure  from  Muoniovara — 50°  below  Zero — A  terrible  Day — An 
Arctic  Night — Jokijalka  again — Travelling  down  the  Tomea — A  Night 
at  Kardis — Increase  of  Daylight — Juoxengi — A  Struggle  for  Life — 
Difficulty  of  keeping  awake — Frozen  Noses — The  Norseman's  Hell — 
— Freezing  Travellers — Full  Daylight  again — Safe  Arrival  at  Hapar 
anda — Comfort — The  Doctor's  Welcome  —  Drive  to  Tornea— Th 
Weather.  ....  16 

CHAPTER  XV. 

WCTOENTS   OF   THE   RKTIKX    JOURNEY. 

Mild  Weather' — Miraculous  Scenery — Nasby — Swedish  Hu.esty— Ad 


CONTENTS  X3 

ventures  at  Lulea  —  Northern  Sleds  —  Pitea  —  Accident  at  Skelleftea— 
The  Non-land  Climate  —  A  damp  Swede  —  Travelling  in  a  Tempest  —  A 
Non-land  Inn  —  Character  of  the  People  —  Their  Houses.  Page  ITt 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

CONCLUSION  OF  THE  ARCTIC  TR'P 

iVarmth  and  Daylight  —  Swedish  Linen  —  The  Northern  Women-  Pro 
gress  Southward  —  Quarrel  with  a  Postillion  —  A  Model  Village  —  Rough 
Roads  —  Scarcity  of  Snow  —  Arrival  at  Stockholm  —  Remarks  on  Arcti« 
Travel  —  Scale  of  Temperature  —  Record  of  Cold,  .  .  IS7 

CHAPTER  XVIL 

LIFE  IN  STOCKHOLM. 

Stockholm  —  Its  Position  and  Appearance  —  The  Streets  and  Houses— 

Manner  of  Living  —  Swedish  Diet  —  Stockholm  in  Spring  —  Swedish 

Gymnastics  —  A  Grotesque  Spectacle  —  Results  of  Gymnastics  —  Ling's 

System  —  The  Swedish  Language  —  Character  of  the  Prose  and  Poetry 

-Songs  —  Life  in  Stockholm.      ....  197 


CHAPTER 

MANNERS  AND  MORALS  OP  STOCKHOLM. 

Hospitality  of  the  Swedes  —  Northern  Frenchmen  —  Stockholm  Manners 
—  Dress  —  Conventionalism  —  Taking  off  the  Hat  —  Courtesy  of  the 
Swedish  —  An  Anecdote  —  King  Oscar  —  The  Royal  Family  —  Tendency 
to  Detraction  —  The  King's  Illness  —  Morals  of  Stockholm  —  Illegitimate 
Births  —  Sham  Morality  —  Causes  of  Immorab'ty  —  Drunkenness  —  An 
Incident  .....  2J 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

JOURNEY  T  J  GOTTKNTU'RG  AND  COPENHAGEN. 

Appearance  of  Spring  —  Departure  from  Stockholm  —  The  Gotha  Canai- 
Vreta  Kloster  —  Scenery  of  the  Wener  —  European  Ideas  concerning 
America  —  A  Democratic  Nobleman  —  The  Gotha  River  —  Gottenb'irg- 


jfii  CONTENTS. 

The  Giant's  Pots  -The  Cattegat—  Elsinore—  The  Sound  Dues  —  Copen 
hajren  and  its  Inhabitants  —  Thorwaldsen  —  Interview  with  Han; 
Christian  Andersen  —  Goldschniidt  —  Prof.  Rafn.  .  .  Page  22S 

CHAPTER  XX. 

RETURN  TO  THE  NORTH.  —  CHRISTIANIA. 

visit  to  Germany  and  England—  The  Steamer  at  Hull—  The  North  Sea 

—  Fellow-Passengers  —  Christiansand  —  The  Coast  of  Norway  —  Arrival 
dt  Christiania  —  Preparations  for  Travelling  —  The  Carriole  —  Progress  of 
Christiania  —  Beauty  of  its  Environs.     ....        23K 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

INCIDENTS  OF  CARRIOLE  TRAVEL. 

Disinterested  Advice  —  Departure  —  Alarm  —  Descending  the  Hills  —  The 
Skyds  System  —  Krogldeven  —  The  King's  View  —  Country  and  Country 
People  —  Summer  Scenery  —  The  Randsfjord  —  A  Cow-Whale  —  The 
Miosen  Lake  —  More  than  we  bargained  for  —  Astonishing  Kindness  — 
The  Lake  from  a  Steamer.  .  .  .  242 

CHAPTER  XXn. 

GULDBRANDSDAL  AND  THE  DOVRE  FJELD. 

Lillehammer—  A  Sabbath  Morning  —  A  Picture  of  Dahi  —  Guldbrandsdel 
—Annoyances  of  Norwegian  Travel  —  The  Louden  River  —  Cataracts  — 
The  Station  at  Viik—  Sinclair's  Defeat  —  Pass  of  the  Hasten  —  The 
Upper  Valley  —  Scenery  of  the  Dovre  Fjeld  —  Solitude  of  the  Mountains 

—  Jerkin  —  Summit  of  the  Fjeld  —  Nature  in  the  North  —  Defile  of  the 
Driv  —A  Silent  Country  —  Valley  of  the  Orkla  —  Park  Scenery  —  A  Cun- 
ning Hostess  —  Solidity  of  Norwegian  Women.  .        8M 


CHAPTER 

DRCNTHEIM  —  VOYAGE  UP  THE  COAST  OF  NORWAY. 

Panorama  of  Dr  >ntheim  —  Its  Streets  and  Houses  —  Quarters  at  the  Hotel 
—  Protestant   High  Mass  —  Norwegian   Steamers  —  Parting  View  oi 


CONTENTS.  jjij 

— Dr<  nthe:m — The  Namsen  Fjord — Settlements  on  the  Coast—- The 
Rock  of  Torghatten — The  Seven  Sisters — Singular  Coast  Scenery — Th€ 
Horseman — Crossing  the  Arctic  Circle — Coasting  Craft — Bodo — An 
Arctic  Sunset  ......  Page  268 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  LOFODEN  ISLES. 

Habits  of  the  Arctic  Summer — The  Lofoden  Islands — Moskoe— The 
Myth  of  the  Maelstrom — The  Lofoden  Fishermen — Improvement  hi 
the  People — Lofoden  Scenery — The  Rasksund — Disappearance  of  Day- 
light— Character  of  the  Scenery — Tromsoe  at  Midnight.  Page  281 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

FINNARK  AND   HAMMERFEST. 

Visit  to  the  Lapps — Scenery  of  Tromsdal — Phenomena  of  the  Arctic 
Summer — The  Lapp  Gammea — A  Herd  of  Reindeer — The  Midnighl 
Sun  and  its  Effect — Scenery  of  the  Alten  Fjord — Pastor  Hvoslef — Mr. 
Thomas  and  his  Home — Altengaard — A  Polar  Bishop — An  Excited 
Discussion — Whales — Appearance  of  Hammerfest — Fishy  Quarter?. 

88U 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  MIDNIGHT  SUN. 

Plans  of  Travellers — Ship  for  the  Varanger  Fjord — Scenery  of  Magerfle 
— Miraculous  Provision  for  human  Life — Fisheries  on  the  Coast — The 
Porsanger  Fjord — Coast  Scenery — Svserholtklub — Rousing  the  Sea 
Gulls— Picture  of  the  Midnight  Sun— Loss  of  a  Night— The  Church  of 
the  Lapps — Wonderful  Rock-painting — Nordkyn.  .  .  300 

CHAPTER  XXVTL 

THE  VARANGER  FJORD — ARCTIC  LIFE. 

Hie  Tana  Fjord — Another  Midnight — Desolation — Arctic  Life — The 
Varanger  Fjord — The  Fort  of  Vardohuus — Arrival  at  Vadso— Summei 
there — More  of  the  Lapps — Climate  and  Delights  of  Living — Ric* 


jay  CONTENTS. 

Fishing — Jolly  young  Englishmen — Daylight  Life-    Its  Effects,  phy 
sical  and  Moral — Trees  of  Hammerfest — An  astronomical  Monument 

P&ge31( 

CHAPTER  XXVIH. 

THE  RETURN  TO  DARKNESS — NORWEGIAN  CHARACTER. 

Splendour  of  the  Northern  Coast  Scenery — Growth  of  Vegetation — GOT 
ernment  of  the  Lapps — Pastor  Lamers  and  his  Secession — Religion 
in  the  North — An  intelligent  Clergyman — Discussions  on  Board — Star- 
light and  Lamp-light — Character  of  the  Norwegians — Their  national 
Vanity — Jealousy  of  Sweden.  .  ...  331 


OHAPTER  XXIX. 

nRONTHKIM   AND   RERGEW. 

rrouble  at  Drontheim — Valley  of  the  Nid — The  Lierfoss — Picture  ol 
Christiansnnd — Molde  and  Romsdal — The  Vikings  and  thnir  Descend- 
ants— The,  Rock  of  Hornelen — Rainy  Bergen — A  Group  of  Lepers — 
Norwegian  Filth — Licentiousness — Picture  of  Bergen — Its  Streets — 
Drunkenness — Days  of  Sunshine — Home-sick  for  Hammerfest — The 
Museum — Delays  and  dear  Charges.  ....  330 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

A  TRIP  TO  THE  V6RING-FOS8. 

Flirting  View  of  Bergen — Lovely  Scenery — Interested  Kindness — The 
Roads  of  Norway — Uncomfortable  Quarters — Voyage  on  the  Oster 
fjord — Bolstadoren — Swindling  Postillions — Arrival  at  Vossevangen — 
Morning  Scenery — Agriculture  in  Norway — Destruction  of  the  Forests 
—Descent  to  Vasenden — A  Captain  on  Leave — Crossing  the  Fjeld — 
The  Shores  of  Ulvik — TTardanger  Scenery — Angling  and  Anglers — 
— PedarHalstensen — National  Song  of  Norway — Sa-b6 — A  stupendous 
Defile — Ascent  of  the  Fjnld — Plateau  of  the  Hardanger — The  Vorinfl- 
fVwd — Its  Grandeur — A  Sseter  Hut— Wonderful  Win«.  34 


COHTENTS.  Jl 

CHAPTER  XXXT 
SKETCHES  FROM  THE  BERGENSTIFT. 

Peder's  Embarrassment  —  His  Drowning  —  The  Landlady—  Morning  at 
Ulvik  —  A  Norwegian  Girl  —  Female  Ugliness  —  Return  to  Vossevangei 
—Indolence  —  Detention  at  Stelheim  —  Scenery  of  the  Naerodal  —  Pos 
tillions  —  On  the  Gudvangen  Fjord  —  The  Sogne  Fjord  —  Transparency 
of  the  Water—  The  Boatmen  .....  Page  359 


CHAPTER 
HALLINGDAL  —  THE  COUNTRY-PEOPLE  OF  NORWAY. 

Roads  to  Christiania  —  Southern  Sunshine  —  Saltenaoset  —  The  Church  oi 
Borgund  —  Top  of  the  Fille  Fjeld  —  Natives  on  Sunday  —  Peculiar  Fe- 
male Costume  —  Scarcity  of  Milk  and  Water  —  The  Peak  of  Saaten  —  A 
Breakfast  at  Ekre  —  Hallingdal  —  Wages  of  Labourers  —  Valley  Scenery 
—How  FKrbuds  are  sent-  Oeneral  Swindling  —  Character  of  the  Nor- 
wegians for  Honesty  —  Illustrations  —  Immorality  —  A  "  Cutty  Sark"  — 
Charms  of  Green.  .  .  .  370 

CHAPTER  XXXIU. 

TELLEMARK  AND  THE  RIUKAN-FOSS. 

Fhe  Silver  Mines  of  Kongsberg  —  Roads  in  Tellemark  —  Bargaining  for 
Horses  —  The  Inn  at  Bolkesjo  —  Sleeping  Admonitions  —  Smashing 
Travel  —  Tinoset  —  The  Tind  Lake  —  A  Norwegian  Farm-House  —  The 
Westfjord-dal  and  its  Scenery  —  Ole  Torgensen's  Daughter  —  The  Val 
ley  —  A  Leper  —  Defile  of  the  Maan  Elv  —  Picture  of  the  Riukan-Foss  — 
Its  Beauty  —  A  Twilight  View  —  Supper  at  Ole's  —  The  Comprehension 
of  Man  —  A  singular  Ravine  —  Hitterdal  —  How  respectable  People  live 
—The  old  Chnrch—  Return  to  Christiania.  .  .  388 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

NORWAY  AND  SWEDEN. 

Norwegian  Honesty  —  The  Country  People  —  Illicit  Connections  —  Th« 
Icelandic  Language  —  Professor  Munck  —  The  Storthing  —  The  Norwe 


1^1  CONTENTS. 

gi/m  Constitution — The  Farmer-State — Conversation  between  a  Ger 
man  Author  and  a  Swedish  Statesman — Gottenburg — A  Fire — Swedisk 
Honesty  and  Courtesy— The  Falls  of  Trollhatten.  .  Page  396 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

A  TRAMP  THROUGH  WERMELAND  AND  DALECARLIA 

Our  Route  -  Leaving  Carlstad— The  Scenery— Valley  of  the  Klai  Ehr  - 
Ohlsater — Wedding  Arches — Asplund — A  Night  Journey — Adven- 
tures in  search  of  a  Bed — Entrance  into  Dalecarlia — The  Farmers  at 
Tyngsjo — Journey  through  the  Woods — The  People  at  Westerdal — 
The  Landlord  at  Ragsveden — The  Landlady — Dalecarlian  Morality — 
A  Lasare — The  Postillion — Poverty — A  Dalecarlian  Boy — Reception 
at  Kettbo — Nocturnal  Conversation — Little  Pehr — The  female  Postil- 
lion— The  Lflsare  in  Dalecarlia — View  of  Mora  Valley.  .  40? 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

LAST  DAYS  IN  THE  NORTH. 

lion  Scenery — "The  Parsonage  of  Mora"  The  Magister — Peasant* 
from  Upper  Elfdal — Scenery  of  the  Siljan — Hymns  on  Board — Opin- 
ions of  the  Lasare — Their  Increase — Conversation  with  the  Peasant* 
— Leksand — The  Domprost  Hvasser — Walk  in  the  Garden — Dalecar 
lian  Songs — Rainy  Travel — Fahlun — Journey  to  Upsala — The  Cholera 
—The  Mound  of  Odin— Skal  to  the  Gods— The  End  of  Summer  hi 
Stockholm— Farewell  to  the  North,  43P 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL, 


CHAPTER    I. 

A  WINTER  VOYAGE  ON  THE  BALTIC. 

went  on  board  the  little  iron  Swedish  propeller,  Carl 
Johau,  at  Lubeck,  on  the  morning  of  December  1,  A.D, 
1856,  having  previously  taken  our  passage  for  Stockholm 
What  was  our  dismay,  after  climbing  over  hills  of  freight 
on  deck,  and  creeping  down  a  narrow  companion-way,  to  find 
the  cabin  stowed  full  of  bales  of  wool  and  barrels  of  butter. 
There  was  a  little  pantry  adjoining  it,  with  a  friendly 
stewardess  therein,  who,  in  answer  to  my  inquiries,  assured 
us  that  we  would  probably  be  placed  in  a  hut.  After  fur- 
ther search,  I  found  the  captain,  who  was  superintending  th: 
loading  of  more  freight,  and  who  also  stated  that  he  would 
put  us  into  a  hut.  "  Let  me  see  the  hut,  then,"  I  demandedj 
did  we  were  a  little  relieved  when  we  found  it  to  be  a  state- 
room, containing  two  of  the  narrowest  of  bunks.  There 
was  another  hut  opposite,  occupied  by  two  more  passengers 

2 


14  HOBTHERN  TRAVEL 

all  tliat  the  steamer  could  carry  and  all  we  had,  except  a 
short  deck-passenger,  who  disappeared  at  the  commencement 
of  the  voyage,  and  was  not  seen  again  until  its  close. 

The  day  was  clear  and  cold,  the  low  hills  around  Lubeck 
were  covered  with  snow,  and  the  Trave  was  already  frozen 
over.  We  left  at  noon,  slowly  breaking  our  way  down  the 
narrow  and  winding  river,  which  gradually  widened  and 
became  clearer  of  ice  as  we  approached  the  Baltic.  W  her 
we  reached  Travemunde  it  was  snowing  fast,  and  a  murky 
chaos  beyond  the  sandy  bar  concealed  the  Baltic.  The 
town  is  a  long  row  of  houses  fronting  the  water.  There 
were  few  inhabitants  to  be  seen,  for  the  bathing  guests  had 
long  since  flown,  and  all  watering  places  have  a  funereal  air 
after  the  season  is  over.  Our  fellow-passenger,  a  jovial 
Pole,  insisted  on  going  ashore  to  drink  a  last  glass  of  Bava- 
rian beer  before  leaving  Germany ;  but  the  beverage  had 
oetn  so  rarely  called  for  that  it  had  grown  sharp  and  sour, 
and  we  hurried  back  unsatisfied. 

A  space  about  six  feet  square  had  been  cleared  out  among 
the  butter-kegs  in  the  cabin,  and  we  sat  down  to  dinner  by 
candle-light,  at  three  o'clock.  Swedish  customs  already 
appeared,  in  a  preliminary  decanter  of  lemon-colored  brandy 
a  thimbleful  of  which  was  taken  with  a  piece  of  bread  anc 
sausage,  before  the  soup  appeared.  The  taste  of  the  liquor 
was  sweet,  unctuous  and  not  agreeable.  Our  party  consist- 
ed of  the  captain,  the  chief  officer,  whc  was  his  brother-in- 
law,  the  Pole,  who  was  a  second  cousin  of  Kosciusko,  and 
had  a  name  consisting  of  eight  consonants  and  two  vowels, 
a  grave  young  Swede  with  a  fresh  Norse  complexion,  and 
our  two  selves.  The  steward,  Hildebrand,  and  the  silent 


A  WINTER  VOYAGE  ON  THE  BALTIC  15 

stewardess,  Marie,  were  our  attendants  and  purveyors 
The  ship's  officers  were  rather  slow  and  opaque,  and  the 
Swede  sublimely  self-possessed  and  indifferent ;  but  the  Pole, 
who  had  been  condemned  to  death  at  Cracow,  and  afterward 
invented  cheap  gas,  was  one  of  the  jolliest  fellows  alive. 
His  German  was  full  of  funny  mistakes,  but  he  rattled 
away  with  as  much  assurance  as  if  it  had  been  his  native 
tongue.  Before  dinner  was  over,  we  were  all  perfectly  well 
acquainted  with  each  other. 

Night  had  already  set  in  on  the  Baltic ;  nothing  was  to 
be  seen  but  snow ;  the  deck  was  heaped  with  freight ;  the 
storm  blew  in  our  teeth ;  and  the  steamer,  deeply  laden, 
moved  slowly  and  laboriously  ;  so  we  stretched  ourselves  on 
the  narrow  bunks  in  our  hut,  and  preserved  a  delicate  regard 
for  our  equilibrium,  even  in  sleep.  In  the  morning  the 
steep  cliffs  of  Moen,  a  Danish  island,  were  visible  on  our 
left.  We  looked  for  Rugen,  the  last  stronghold  of  the  wor- 
ship of  Odin  in  the  Middle  Ages,  but  a  raw  mist  rolled 
down  upon  the  sea,  and  left  us  advancing  blindly  as  before. 
The  wind  was  strong  and  cold,  blowing  the  vapory  water- 
smoke  in  long  trails  across  the  surface  of  the  waves.  It  was 
not  long,  however,  before  some  dim  white  gleams  through 
the  mist  were  pointed  out  as  the  shores  of  Sweden,  and  the 
Carl  Johan  slackened  her  speed  to  a  snail's  pace,  snuffing 
it  headland  after  headland,  like  a  dog  off  the  scent,  in  order 
to  find  her  way  into  Ystad. 

A  lift  of  the  fog  favored  us  at  last,  and  we  ran  into  the 
little  harbor.  I  walked  the  contracted  hurricane  deck  at 
three  o'clock,  with  the  sunset  already  flushing  the  west 
'ooked  on  the  town  and  land,  and  thought  of  my  friend  Dr 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 


Kane.  The  mercury  had  fallen  to  16°,  a  foot  of  snow  cov- 
ered the  house-roofs,  the  low,  undulating  hills  all  were  the 
same  monotonous  no-color,  and  the  yellow  haired  people  on 
the  pier  were  buttoned  up  close,  mittened  and  fur-capped 
The  captain  telegraphed  to  Calmar,  our  next  port,  and 
received  an  answer  that  the  sound  was  full  of  ice  and  the 
harbor  frozen  up.  A  custom-house  officer,  who  took  supper 
with  us  on  board,  informed  us  of  the  loss  of  the  steam-ship 
Umea,  which  was  cut  through  by  the  ice  near  Sundsvall, 
and  sunk,  drowning  fifteen  persons  —  a  pleasant  prospect  for 
our  further  voyage  —  and  the  Pole  would  have  willingly 
landed  at  Ystad  if  he  could  have  found  a  conveyance  to  get 
beyond  it.  We  had  twelve  tons  of  coal  to  take  on  board, 
and  the  work  proceeded  so  slowly  that  we  caught  another 
snow-storm  so  thick  and  blinding  that  we  dared  not  venture 
out  of  the  harbor. 

On  the  third  morning,  nevertheless,  we  were  again  at  sea, 
having  passed  Bornholm,  and  were  heading  for  the  southern 
end  of  the  Island  of  Oland.  About  noon,  as  we  were  sitting 
huddled  around  the  cabin  stove,  the  steamer  suddenly  stop- 
ped. There  was  a  hurried  movement  of  feet  overhead—  a 
cry  —  and  we  rushed  on  deck.  One  of  the  sailors  was  in  the 
ict  of  throwing  overboard  a  life  buoy.  "It  is  the  Pole!" 
uas  our  first  exclamation.  "  No.  no,"  said  Hildebrand,  with 
9  distressed  face,  "  it  is  the  cabin-boy"  —  a  sprightly,  hand- 
some fellow  of  fourteen.  There  he  was  struggling  in  the 
icy  water,  looking  toward  the  steamer,  which  was  every 
moment  more  distant  Two  men  were  in  the  little  boat, 
which  had  just  been  run  down  from  the  davits,  but  it  seem- 
ed an  eternity  until  their  oars  were  shipped,  and  they  pulled 


»  WINTER   v;  VAOE  ON  THE   BALTIC.  1  7 

away  on  their  errand  of  life  or  death.  We  urged  the  matt 
to  put  the  steamer  about,  but  he  passively  refused.  Tht 
boy  still  swam,  but  tho  boat  was  not  yet  half-way,  and 
headed  too  much  to  the  left.  There  was  no  tiller,  and  the 
men  could  only  guess  at  their  course.  We  guided  them  bj 
signs,  watching  the  boy's  head,  now  a  mere  speck,  seen  at 
intervals  under  the  lowering  sky.  He  struggled  gallantly  : 
the  boat  drew  nearer,  and  one  of  the  men  stood  up  and 
looked  around.  We  watched  with  breathless  suspense  for 
the  reappearance  of  the  brave  young  swimmer,  but  we 
watched  in  vain.  Poor  boy  !  who  can  know  what  was  the 
agony  of  those  ten  minutes,  while  the  icy  waves  gradually 
benumbed  and  dragged  down  the  young  life  that  struggled 
with  such  desperate  energy  to  keep  its  place  in  the  world  ! 
The  men  sat  down  and  rowed  back,  bringing  only  his  cap, 
which  they  had  found  floating  on  the  sea.  "Ah!"  said 
Hildebrand,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  "  I  did  not  want  to  take 
him  this  voyage,  but  his  mother  begged  me  so  hard  that  I 
could  not  refuse,  and  this  is  the  end !" 

We  had  a  melancholy  party  in  the  cabin  that  afternoon. 
The  painful  impression  made  by  this  catastrophe  was 
heightened  by  the  knowledge  that  it  might  have  been  pre- 
vented. The  steamer  amidships  was  filled  up  to  her  rail 
with  coal,  and  the  boy  was  thrown  overboard  by  a  sudden 
lurch  while  walking  upon  it.  Immediately  afterwards,  lines 
were  rove  along  the  stanchions,  to  prevent  the  same  thing 
happening  again.  The  few  feet  of  deck  upon  which  we  could 
walk  were  slippery  with  ice,  \nd  we  kept  below,  smoking 
gloomily  and  saying  little.  Another  violent  snow-storm 
same  on  from  the  north,  but  in  the  afternoon  we  caughf 


18  NORTHERN    rRAVEI, 

sight  of  some  rocks  off  Carlscrona,  and  made  the  light  or. 
Oland  in  the  evening.  The  wind  had  been  blowing  so 
freshly  that  our  captain  suspected  Calraar  Sound  might  be 
clear,  and  determined  to  try  the  passage.  We  felt  our  way 
lowly  through  the  intricate  sandbanks,  in  the  inidst  of  fog 
*nd  snow,  until  after  midnight,  when  only  six  miles  from 
Calmar,  we  were  stopped  by  fields  of  drift  ice,  and  had  to 
put  back  again. 

The  fourth  morning  dawned  cold  and  splendidly  clear. 
When  I  went  on  deck  we  were  rounding  the  southern  point 
of  Oland,  through  long  belts  of  floating  ice.  The  low  chalk 
cliffs  were  covered  with  snow,  and  looked  bleak  and  desolate 
enough.  The  wind  now  came  out  of  the  west,  enabling  us 
to  carry  the  foresail,  so  that  we  made  eight  or  nine  knots,  in 
spite  of  onr  overloaded  condition.  Braisted  and  1  walked 
the  deck  all  day,  enjoying  the  keen  wind  and  clear,  faint 
sunshine  of  the  North.  In  the  afternoon,  however,  it  blew 
half  a  gale,  with  flurries  of  mingled  rain  and  snow.  The 
sea  rose,  and  the  steamer,  lumbered  as  she  was,  could  not  be 
steered  on  her  course,  but  had  to  be  "  conned,"  to  keep  off 
the  strain.  The  hatches  were  closed,  and  an  occasional  sea 
broke  over  the  bows.  We  sat  below  in  the  dark  huts ;  the 
Pole,  leaning  against  the  bulkhead,  silently  awaiting  his 
fate,  as  he  afterwards  confessed.  1  had  faith  enough  in  the 
timidity  of  our  captain,  not  to  feel  the  least  alarm — and 
true  enough,  two  hours  had  not  elapsed  before  we  lay-to  un 
dar  the  lee  of  the  northern  end  of  Oland.  The  Pole  then 
gat  down,  bathed  from  head  to  foot  in  a  cold  sweat,  and 
would  have  lauded  immediately,  had  it  been  possible.  The 
Swede  was  as  inexpressive  as  ever,  with  the  same  ialf-smik 
on  his  fair,  serious  face 


A  WINTER  VOYAGE  ON  THE  BALTIC.  J§ 

I  was  glad  to  find  that  our  captain  did  not  intend  to  lost 
Hie  wind,  but  would  start  again  in  an  hour  or  two.  VVe 
had  a  quieter  night  than  could  have  been  anticipated,  fal- 
lowed by  a  brilliant  morning.  Such  good  progress  had  been 
made  that  at  sunrise  the  lighthouse  on  the  rocks  of  Landsort 
was  visible,  and  the  jagged  masses  of  that  archipelago  of 
oloven  isles  which  extends  all  the  way  to  Tornea,  began  to 
stud  the  sea.  The  water  became  smoother  as  we  ran  into 
the  sound  between  Landsort  and  the  outer  isles.  A  long 
line  of  bleak,  black  rocks,  crusted  with  snow,  stretched  be- 
fore us.  Beside  the  lighthouse,  at  their  southern  extremity, 
there  were  two  red  frame-houses,  and  a  telegraph  station. 
A  boat,  manned  by  eight  hardy  sailors,  came  off  with  a  pilot, 
who  informed  us  that  Stockholm  was  closed  with  ice,  and 
that  the  other  steamers  had  been  obliged  to  stop  at  the  little 
port  of  Dalaro,  thirty  miles  distant.  So  for  Dalar6  we 
headed,  threading  the  channels  of  the  scattering  islands, 
which  gradually  became  higher  and  more  picturesque,  with 
clumps  of  dark  fir  crowning  their  snowy  slopes.  The  mid- 
day sun  hung  low  on  the  horizon,  throwing  a  pale  yellow 
light  over  the  wild  northern  scenery ;  but  there  was  life  in 
the  cold  air,  and  I  did  not  ask  for  summer. 

We  passed  the  deserted  fortress  of  DalarS,  a  square  stone 
structure,  which  has  long  since  outlived  its  purpose,  on  the 
summit  of  a  rock  in  the  sound.  Behind  it,  opened  a  quiet 
bay,  held  in  a  projecting  arm  of  the  mainland,  near  the  ex- 
tremity of  which  appeared  our  port — a  village  of  about  fifty 
houses,  scattered  along  the  abrupt  shore.  The  dark-red 
buildings  stood  out  distinctly  against  the  white  background ; 
two  steamers  and  half  a  do*en  sailing  crafts  were  moored 


3jQ  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

below  them ;  about  as  many  individuals  were  moving  quietly 
about  and  for  all  the  life  and  animation  we  could  see,  w* 
might  have  been  in  Kamtchatka. 

As  our  voyage  terminated  here,  our  first  business  was  U 
find  means  of  getting  to  Stockholm  Vy  land.  Our  fellow- 
passengers  proposed  that  we  should  join  company,  and 
engage  five  horses  and  three  sleds  for  ourselves  and  luggage, 
The  Swede  willingly  undertook  to  negotiate  for  us,  and  set 
about  the  work  with  his  usual  impassive  semi-cheerfulness. 
The  landlord  of  the  only  inn  in  the  place  promised  to  have 
ererything  ready  by  six  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and  our 
captain,  who  was  to  go  on  the  same  evening,  took  notices  of 
our  wants,  to  be  served  at  the  two  intervening  post-stations 
on  the  road.  We  then  visited  the  custom-house,  a  cabin 
about  ten  feet  square,  and  asked  to  have  our  luggage  ex- 
amined. "  No,"  answered  the  official,  "  we  have  no  authority 
to  examine  anything;  you  must  wait  until  we  send  to 
Stockholm."  This  was  at  least  a  new  experience.  We 
were  greatly  vexed  and  annoyed,  but  at  length,  by  dint  of 
explanations  and  entreaties,  prevailed  upon  the  man  to 
attempt  an  examination.  Our  trunks  were  brought  ashore, 
and  if  ever  a  man  did  his  duty  conscientiously,  it  was  this 
same  Swedish  official.  Every  article  was  taken  out  and 
separately  inspected,  with  an  honest  patience  which  I  could 
not  but  admire.  Nothing  was  found  contraband,  however  ; 
we  had  the  pleasure  of  re-packing,  and  were  then  pulled 
Dack  to  the  C*rl  Johan  in  a  profuse  sweat,  despite  the  in- 
tense cold 


STOCKHOLM. PREPARATIONS    FOR   THE    NORTH.  21 


CTI  AFTER    II. 

STOCKHOLM. PREPARATIONS    FOR    THE    NORTH. 

ON  the  following  morning  we  arose  at  fi?e,  went  ashore 
in  tne  darkness,  and  after  waiting  an  hour,  succeeded  in 
getting  our  teams  together.  The  horses  were  small,  but 
spirited,  the  sleds  rudely  put  together,  but  strong,  and  not 
uncomfortable,  and  the  drivers,  peasants  of  the  neighborhood, 
patient,  and  good-humored.  Climbing  the  steep  bank,  we 
were  out  of  the  village  in  two  minutes,  crossed  an  open  com- 
mon, and  entered  the  forests  of  fir  and  pine.  The  sleighing 
was  superb,  and  our  little  nags  carried  us  merrily  along,  at 
the  usual  travelling  rate  of  one  Swedish  mile  (nearly  seven 
English)  per  hour.  Enveloped  from  head  to  foot  in  our  fur 
robes,  we  did  not  feel  the  sharp  air,  and  in  comparing  our 
sensations,  decided  that  the  temperature  was  about  20°. 
What  was  our  surprise,  on  reaching  the  post-station,  at 
learning  that  it  was  actually  2°  below  zero ! 

Slowly,  almost  imperceptibly,  the  darkness  decreased,  but 
the  morning  was  cloudy,  and  there  was  little  appearance  of 
lay  break  before  nine  o'clock.  In  the  early  twilight  we  were 

startled  by  the  appearance  of  a  ball  of  meteoric  fire,  nearly 
2* 


22  HOBTHERN  TRATBU 

as  large  as  the  moon,  and  of  a  soft  white  lustre,  which 
moved  in  a  horizontal  line  from  east  to  west,  and  disap- 
peared without  a  sound.  I  was  charmed  by  the  forest 
scenery  through  which  we  passed.  The  pine,  spruce,  and 
fir  trees,  of  the  greatest  variety  of  form,  were  completely 
coated  with  frozen  snow,  and  stood  as  immovable  as  forests 
of  bronze  incrusted  with  silver.  The  delicate  twigs  of  the 
weeping  birch  resembled  sprays  of  crystal,  of  a  thousand  airy 
and  exquisite  patterns.  There  was  no  wind,  except  in  the 
open  glades  between  the  woods,  where  the  frozen  lakes  spread 
out  like  meadow  intervals.  As  we  approached  the  first  sta- 
tion there  were  signs  of  cultivation — fields  inclosed  witL 
"take  fences,  low  red  houses,  low  barns,  and  scanty  patcheb 
of  garden  land.  We  occasionally  met  peasants  with  theii 
sleds — hardy,  red-faced  fellows,  and  women  solid  enough  to 
outweigh  their  bulk  in  pig-iron. 

The  post-station  was  a  cottage  in  the  little  hamlet  ol 
Berga.  We  drove  into  the  yard,  and  while  sleds  and  horses 
were  being  changed,  partook  of  some  boiled  milk  and  tough 
rye-bread,  the  only  things  to  be  had,  but  both  good  of  their 
kind.  The  travellers'  room  was  carpeted  and  comfortable, 
and  the  people  seemed  poor  only  because  of  their  few  wants. 
Our  new  sleds  were  worse  than  the  former,  and  so  were  our 
horses,  but  we  came  to  the  second  station  in  time,  and  found 
we  must  make  still  another  arrangement.  The  luggage 
wag  sent  ahead  on  a  large  sled,  while  each  pair  of  us,  seated 
in  a  one  horse  cutter,  followed  after  it,  driving  ourselves. 
Swedish  horses  are  stopped  by  a  whistle,  and  encouraged  tojf' 

j 

a  smacking  of  the  lips,  which  I  found  impossible  to  learn  at 
once,  and  they  considerately  gave  us  no  whips.  We  had 


8TOCKHOI.M. — PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   NORTH.  23 

QOW  a  broad,  beaten  road,  and  the  many  teams  we  met  and 
passed  gave  evidence  of  our  approach  to  Stockholm.  The 
country,  too,  gently  undulating  all  the  way,  was  more  thicklj 
settled,  and  appeared  to  be  under  tolerable  cultivation. 

About  one  in  the  afternoon,  we  climbed  a  rising  slope,  and 
from  its  brow  looked  down  upon  Stockholm.  The  sky  was 
dark-gray  and  lowering;  the  hills  were  covered  with  snow. 
and  the  roofs  of  the  city  resembled  a  multitude  of  tents,  out 
of  which  rose  half  a  dozen  dark  spires.  On  either  side  were 
arms  of  the  Malar  Lake — white,  frozen  plains.  Snow  wag 
already  in  the  air,  and  presently  we  looked  through  a  screen 
of  heavy  flakes  on  the  dark,  weird,  wintry  picture.  The 
impression  was  perfect  of  its  kind,  and  I  shall  not  soon  for- 
get it. 

We  had  passed  through  the  southern  suburb,  and  were 
descending  to  the  lake,  when  one  of  our  shafts  snapped  off. 
Resigning  the  cutter  to  the  charge  of  a  stout  maiden,  who 
acted  as  postillion,  Braisted  and  I  climbed  upon  the  luggage, 
and  in  this  wise;  shaggy  with  snowy  fur,  passed  through  the 
city,  before  the  House  of  Nobles  and  the  King's  Palace,  and 
over  the  Northern  Bridge,  and  around  the  northern  suburb, 
and  I  know  not  where  else,  to  the  great  astonishment  oi 
everybody  we  met,  until  our  stupid  driver  found  out  where 
he  was  to  go.  Then  we  took  leave  of  the  Pole,  who  had 
engaged  horses  to  Norrkoping,  and  looked  utterly  disconso- 
late at  parting ;  but  the  grave  Swede  showed  his  kind  heart 
at  last  for — neglecting  his  home,  from  which  he  had  been 
absent  seven  years — he  accompanied  us  to  an  hotel,  engaged 
rooms,  and  saw  us  safely  housed. 

We  remained  in  Stockholm  a  week,  engaged  in  making 


24  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

preparations  for  onr  journey  to  the  North.  Dm  ing  thia 
time  we  were  very  comfortably  quartered  in  Kahn's  Hotel, 
the  only  one  in  the  capital  where  one  can  get  both  rooms 
and  meals.  The  weather  changed  so  entirely,  as  completely 
to  destroy  onr  first  impressions,  and  make  the  North,  which 
we  were  seeking,  once  more  as  distant  as  when  we  left  Ger- 
many. The  day  after  our  arrival  a  thaw  set  in,  which 
cleared  away  every  particle  of  snow  and  ice,  opened  the 
harbor,  freed  the  Malar  Lake,  and  gave  the  white  hills 
around  the  city  their  autumnal  colors  of  brown  and  dark- 
green.  A  dense  fog  obscured  the  brief  daylight,  the  air  was 
close,  damp,  and  oppressive,  everybody  coughed  and  snuffled, 
and  the  air-tight  rooms,  so  comfortable  in  cold  weather, 
became  insufferable.  My  blood  stagnated,  my  spirits  de- 
cended  as  the  mercury  rose,  and  I  grew  all  impatience  to 
have  zero  and  a  beaten  snow- track  again. 

We  had  more  difficulty  in  preparing  for  this  journey  than 
I  anticipated — not  so  much  in  the  way  of  procuring  the 
necessary  articles,  as  the  necessary  information  on  the  sub- 
ject. I  was  not  able  to  find  a  man  who  had  made  the 
journey  in  winter,  or  who  could  tell  me  what  to  expect,  and 
what  to  do.  The  mention  of  my  plan  excited  very  general 
surprise,  but  the  people  were  too  polished  and  courteous  to 
say  outright  that  I  was  a  fool,  though  I  don't  doubt  that 
many  of  them  thought  so.  Even  the  maps  are  only  minute 
enough  for  the  traveller  as  far  as  Tornea,  and  the  only 
special  maps  of  Lapland  I  could  get  dated  from  I  SOS.  Thfl 
Government,  it  is  true,  has  commenced  the  publication  of  a 
very  admirable  map  of  the  kingdom,  in  provinces,  but  thegw 
do  not  as  yet  extend  beyond  Jemteland,  about  Lut.  63f 


STOCKHOLM.— PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  NORTH  26 

north.  Neither  is  theie  any  work  to  be  had,  except  some 
botanical  and  geological  publications,  which  of  course  con- 
tain but  little  practical  information.  The  English  and 
German  Handbooks  for  Sweden  are  next  to  useless,  north  .1 
Stockholm.  The  principal  assurances  were,  that  we  should 
suffer  greatly  from  cold,  that  we  should  take  along  a  supply 
of  provisions,  for  nothing  was  to  be  had,  and  that  we  must 
expect  to  endure  hardships  and  privations  of  all  kinds. 
This  prospect  was  not  at  all  alarming,  for  I  remembered 
that  I  had  heard  much  worse  accounts  of  Ethiopia  while 
making  similar  preparations  in  Cairo,  and  have  learned  that 
all  such  bugbears  cease  to  exist  when  they  are  boldly  faced. 
Our  outfit,  therefore,  was  restricted  to  some  coffee,  sugar, 
salt,  gunpowder,  lucifer-matches,  lead,  shot  and  slugs,  four 
bottles  of  cognac  for  cases  of  extremity,  a  sword,  a  butcher- 
knife,  hammer,  screw- driver,  nails,  rope  and  twine,  all  con- 
tained in  a  box  about  eighteen  inches  square.  A  single 
f  alise  held  our  stock  of  clothing,  books,  writing  and  drawing 
materials,  and  each  of  us  carried,  in  addition,  a  double- 
barrelled  musket.  We  made  negotiations  for  the  purchase 
of  a  handsome  Norrland  sleigh  (numbers  of  which  come  to 
Stockholm,  at  this  season,  laden  with  wild-fowl),  but  the 
thaw  prevented  our  making  a  bargain.  The  preparation  oi 
the  requisite  funds,  however,  was  a  work  of  some  time.  It 
this  T  was  assisted  by  Mr.  MostrSm,  an  excellent  valet-de- 
place,  whom  I  hereby  recommend  to  all  travellers.  When, 
after  three  or  four  days'  labor  and  diplomacy,  he  brought 
me  the  money,  I  thought  I  had  sudden^  come  in  possession 
:>f  an  immense  fortune.  Thert  were  hundreds  of  bank-notes 
and  thousands  of  silver  pieces  of  all  sizes — Swedish  paper 


26  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

silver  and  copper,  Norwegian  notes  and  dollars,  Danish 
marks,  and  Russian  gold,  roubles  and  copecks.  The  value 
belied  the  quantity,  and  the  vast  pile  melted  away  BO  fast 
that  I  was  soon  relieved  of  my  pleasant  delusion. 

Our  equipment  should  have  been  made  in  Germany,  for, 
singularly  enough,  Stockholm  is  not  half  so  well  provided 
with  furs  and  articles  of  winter  clothing  as  Hamburg  or 
Leipsic.  Besides,  everything  is  about  fifty  per  cent  dearer 
here.  We  were  already  provided  with  ample  fur  robes,  1 
with  one  of  gray  bear-skin,  and  Braisted  with  yellow  fox. 
To  these  we  added  caps  of  sea-otter,  mittens  of  dog-skin, 
lined  with  the  fur  of  the  Arctic  hare,  knitted  devil's  caps, 
woollen  sashes  of  great  length  for  winding  around  the  body, 
and,  after  long  search,  leather  Russian  boots  lined  with 
sheepskin  and  reaching  halfway  up  the  thigh.  When  rig- 
ged out  in  this  costume,  my  diameter  was  about  equal  to 
half  my  height,  and  I  found  locomotion  rather  cumbrous ; 
while  Braisted,  whose  stature  is  some  seven  inches  shorter, 
waddled  along  like  an  animated  cotton-bale. 

Everything  being  at  last  arranged,  so  far  as  our  limited 
information  made  it  possible,  for  a  two  months'  journey,  we 
engaged  places  in  a  diligence  which  runs  as  far  as  Gefle, 
120  miles  north  of  Stockholm.  There  we  hoped  to  find 
snow  and  a  colder  climate.  One  of  my  first  steps  had  been 
to  engage  a  Swedish  teacher,  and  by  dint  of  taking  double 
lessons  every  day,  I  flattered  myself  that  I  had  made  suffi- 
cient progress  in  the  language  to  travel  without  an  inter- 
preter— the  most  inconvenient  and  expensive  of  persons. 
To  be  sure,  a  week  is  very  little  for  a  new  language,  but  tc 
me  who  speaks  English  and  German,  Swedish  is  already 
half  acauired. 


ilKST  KXPERIENCE8  OF  NORTHERN  TRAVEL.  J>7 


CHAPTER  III. 

FIRST  EXPERIENCES  OF  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

THE  diligence  was  a  compact  little  vehicle,  carrying  foul 
persons,  but  we  two  were  so  burdened  with  our  guns,  sword, 
money-bag,  field-glass,  over-boots  and  two-fathom-long 
sashes,  that  we  found  the  space  allotted  to  us  small  enough. 
We  started  at  eight  o'clock,  and  had  not  gone  a  hundred 
yards  before  we  discovered  that  the  most  important  part  of 
our  outfit — the  maps — had  been  left  behind.  It  was  toe 
late  to  return,  and  we  were  obliged  to  content  ourselves  with 
the  hope  of  supplying  them  at  Upsala  or  Gette. 

We  rolled  by  twilight  through  the  Northern  suburb. 
The  morning  was  sharp  and  cold,  and  the  roads,  which  had 
been  muddy  and  cut  up  the  day  before,  were  frozen  terribly 
hard  and  rough.  Our  fellow-passengers  were  two  Swedes, 
an  unprepossessing  young  fellow  who  spoke  a  few  words  of 
English,  and  a  silent  old  gentleman;  we  did  not  derive 
much  advantage  from  their  society,  and  I  busied  myself  with 
observing  the  country  through  which  we  passed.  A  mile 
or  two,  past  handsome  country-seats  and  some  cemeteries, 
Drought  us  into  the  region  of  forests.  The  pines  were  tall 
and  picturesque  in  their  forms,  and  the  grassy  meadowe 


28  NORTHERN   TRAVKL 

between  them,  entirely  clear  of  snow,  were  wonderfully  green 
for  the  season.  During  the  first  stage  we  passed  some  inlets 
of  the  Baltic,  highly  picturesque  with  their  irregular  woocltd 
shores.  They  had  all  been  frozen  over  during  the  night. 
We  were  surprised  to  see,  on  a  southern  hill-side,  four  pea- 
sants at  work  ploughing.  How  they  got  their  shares 
through  the  frozen  sod,  unless  the  soil  was  remarkably  dry 
and  sandy,  was  more  than  I  could  imagine.  We  noticed 
occasionally  a  large  manor-house,  with  its  dependent  out- 
buildings, and  its  avenue  of  clipped  beeches  or  lindens,  look- 
ing grand  and  luxurious  in.the  midst  of  the  cold  dark  fields. 
Here  and  there  were  patches  of  wheat,  which  the  early  snow 
had  kept  green,  and  the  grass  in  the  damp  hollows  was  still 
bright,  yet  it  was  the  15th  of  December,  and  we  were 
almost  in  lat.  60°  N. 

The  houses  were  mostly  one-story  wooden  cottages,  of  a 
dull  red  color,  with  red  roofs.  In  connection  with  the 
black-green  of  the  pine  and  fir  woods  they  gave  the  country 
a  singularly  sombre  aspect.  There  was  little  variation  in 
the  scenery  all  the  way  to  Upsala.  In  some  places,  the  soil 
appeared  to  be  rich  and  under  good  cultivation ;  here  the 
red  villages  were  more  frequent,  and  squat  church-towers 
showed  themselves  in  the  distance.  In  other  places,  we  had 
but  the  rough  hills,  or  rather  knobs  of  gray  gneiss,  whose 
masses  were  covered  with  yellow  moss,  and  the  straggling 
fir  forests.  We  met  but  few  country  teams  on  the  road ; 
nobody  was  to  be  seen  about  the  houses,  and  the  laud  seemed 
to  be  asleep  or  desolated.  Even  at  noon,  when  the  sun  ca  uat 
out  fairly,  he  was  low  on  the  horizon,  and  gave  but  at 
2clipsed  light,  which  was  more  cheerless  than  complete  dnrk 


FIRST   EXPERIENCES  OF   NORTHERN  TRAVEL.  2P 

The  sun  set  about  three  o'clock,  but  we  had  a  long,  splen- 
did twilight,  a  flush  of  orange,  rose  and  amber-green,  worthy 
of  a  Mediterranean  heaven.  Two  hours  afterwards,  the 
lights  of  Upsala  appeared,  and  we  drove  under  the  imposing 
front  of  the  old  palace,  through  clean  streets,  over  the 
Upsala  River,  and  finally  stopped  at  the  door  of  a  court- 
yard. Here  we  were  instantly  hailed  by  some  young  fellows, 
who  inquired  if  we  did  not  want  rooms.  The  place  did  not 
appear  to  be  an  inn,  but  as  the  silent  old  gentleman  got  out 
and  went  in,  I  judged  it  best  to  follow  his  example,  and  the 
diligence  drove  off  with  our  baggage.  We  were  right,  after 
all:  a  rosy,  handsome,  good-humored  landlady  appeared, 
promised  to  furnish  us  with  beds  and  a  supper,  to  wake  us 
betimes,  and  give  us  ceffee  before  leaving. 

The  old  gentleman  kindly  put  on  his  coat  and  accom- 
panied us  to  a  bookstore  on  the  public  square,  where  I  found 
Akrell's  map  of  Northern  Sweden,  and  thus  partially  re- 
placed our  loss.  He  sat  awhile  in  our  room  trying  to  con- 
verse, but  I  made  little  headway.  On  learning  that  we 
were  bound  for  Tornea,  he  asked :  "  Are  you  going  to  buy 
lumber?"  "  i\o,"  I  answered;  "we  are  merely  going  to  see 
the  country."  He  laughed  long  and  heartily  at  such  an 
absurd  idea,  got  up  in  a  hurry,  and  went  to  bed  without 
saying  another  word.  We  h:\d  a  supper  of  various  kinds  of 
sausage,  tough  rye  bread,  and  a  bowl  of  milk,  followed  by 
excellent  beds — a  thing  which  you  are  sure  to  find  every- 
where in  Sweden. 

We  drove  off  again  at  half-past  six  in  the  morning  moon 
light,  with  a  temperature  of  zero.  Two  or  three  miles  from 
the  town  \ve  pa^se'l  the  mounds  of  old  Upsala,  the  graves  of 


30  NOKTHKKX   TRAVI'.L. 

Odin,  Thor  and  Freya,  rising  boldly  agaii  3t  the  first  glim 
merings  of  daylight.     The  landscape  was  broad,  lark  and 
silent,  the  woods  and  fields  confusedly  blended  together,  and 
only  the  sepulchres  of  the  ancient  gods  broke  the  level  lin€ 
of  the  horizon.     I  could  readily  have  believed  in  them  a 
that  hour. 

Passing  over  the  broad  rich  plain  of  Upsala,  we  entered 
a  gently  undulating  country,  richer  and  better  cultivated 
than  the  district  we  had  traversed  the  previous  day.  It  waa 
splendidly  wooded  with  thick  fir  forests,  floored  with  bright 
green  moss.  Some  of  the  views  toward  the  north  and  west 
were  really  fine  from  their  extent,  though  seen  in  the  faded 
light  and  long  shadows  of  the  low  northern  sun.  In  the 
afternoon,  we  passed  a  large  white  church,  with  four  little 
towers  at  the  corners,  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  village  of 
low  red  stables,  in  which  the  country  people  shelter  their 
horses  while  attending  service.  There  must  have  been  fifty 
or  sixty  of  these  buildings,  arranged  in  regular  streets  In 
most  of  the  Swedish  country  churches,  the  belfry  stands 
apart,  a  squat,  square  tower,  painted  red,  with  a  black  upper 
story,  and  is  sometimes  larger  than  the  church  itself.  The 
houses  of  the  peasants  are  veritable  western  shanties,  except 
in  color  and  compactness.  No  wind  finds  a  cranny  to  enter, 
and  the  roofs  of  thick  thatch,  kept  down  by  long,  horizontal 
poles,  have  an  air  of  warmth  and  comfort.  The  stables  are 
banked  with  earth  up  to  the  hay-loft,  and  the  cattle  enter 
their  subterranean  stalls  through  sloping  doorways  like 
those  of  the  Egyptian  tombs. 

Notwithstanding  we  made  good  progreps  through  the  day. 
it  was  dark  long  before  we  reached  the  bridge  over  the  Dal 


FIRST  i;xi'i:Kir.xci:s  01-  XORTHKRN  TRAVEL.  31 

tulv,  and  of  the  famous  cascades  we  saw  only  a  sloping  whit* 
ijlirnmer,  between  dark  masses  of  forest,  and  heard  the  noisf 
of  the  broken  waters.  At  Elfkarleby  we  were  allowed 
twenty  minutes  for  dinner — boiled  salmon  and  beefsteak 
both  bad.  I  slept  after  this,  until  aroused  by  the  old  Swede 
as  we  entered  Gefle.  We  drove  across  a  broad  bridge 
looked  over  vessels  frozen  into  the  inlet  of  the  Gulf,  passed 
a  large  public  square,  and  entered  the  yard  of  the  diligence 
office,  A  boy  in  waiting  conducted  us  to  a  private  house, 
where  furnished  rooms  were  to  be  had,  and  here  we  obtained 
tea,  comfortable  beds,  and  the  attendance  of  a  rosy  servant- 
girl,  who  spoke  intelligible  Swedish. 

My  first  care  the  next  morning,  was  to  engage  horses  and 
send  off  my  forbitd  papers.  We  were  now  to  travel  by 
"  skj  fits''  (pronounced  shoos],  or  post,  taking  new  horses  at 
each  station  on  the  road.  The  forbud  tickets  are  simply 
orders  for  horses  to  be  ready  at  an  appointed  time,  and  are 
sent  in  advance  to  all  the  stations  on  the  road,  either  by 
mail  or  by  a  special  messenger.  Without  this  precaution, 
I  was  told,  we  might  be  subjected  to  considerable  delay. 
This  mode  of  travelling  is  peculiar  to  Sweden  and  Norway. 
It  has  been  in  existence  for  three  or  four  centuries,  and 
though  gradually  improved  and  systematized  with  the  lapse 
of  time,  it  is  still  sufficiently  complex  and  inconvenient  to 
a  traveller  coming  from  the  railroad  world. 

Professor  Retzius  had  referred  me  to  the  botanist  Hart 
man,  in  case  of  need,  but  1  determined  to  commence  by 
helping  myself.     I  had  a  little  difficulty  at  first:  the  peopl 
are  unused  to  speaking  with  foreigners,  and  if  you  ask  them 
to  talk  slowly,  they  invariably  rattle  away  twice  as  fast  af 


32  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

before.  1  went  into  a  variety  shop  on  the  public  square 
ana  asked  where  1  could  engage  horses  for  Sundsvall 
After  making  myself  understood,  as  I  supposed,  the  clerk 
{landed  me  some  new  bridles.  By  dint  of  blundering,  1 
gradually  circumscribed  the  range  of  my  inquiries,  and 
finally  came  to  a  focus  at  the  right  place.  Having  ordered 
horses  at  six  the  next  morning,  and  despatched  the  f&rbud 
tickets  by  the  afternoon's  mail,  1  felt  that  1  had  made  a 
good  beginning,  and  we  set  out  to  make  the  tour  of  Gefle. 

This  is  a  town  of  eight  or  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  with 
a  considerable  shipping  interest,  and  a  naval  school.  It  is 
a  pretty  place,  well  built,  and  with  a  neat,  substantial  air 
The  houses  are  mostly  two  stories  high,  white,  and  with 
Bpacious  courts  in  the  rear.  The  country  around  is  low  but 
rolling,  and  finely  clothed  with  dark  forests  of  fir  and  pine. 
It  was  a  superb  day — gloriously  clear,  with  a  south  wind 
bracing,  and  not  too  cold,  and  a  soft,  pale  lustre  from  the 
jloudless  sun.  But  such  a  day!  Sunrise  melting  into 
sunset  without  a  noon — a  long  morning  twilight,  a  low, 
slant  sun,  shining  on  the  housetops  for  an  hour  or  so,  and 
the  evening  twilight  at  three  in  the  afternoon.  Nothing 
seemed  real  in  this  strange,  dying  light — nothing  but  m_y 
ignorance  of  Swedish,  whenever  I  tried  to  talk. 

In  the  afternoon,  we  called  on  the  Magister  Hartman, 
whom  we  found  poring  over  his  plants.  He  spoke  English 
olerably,  and  having  made  a  journey  through  Lapland 
rom  Tornea  to  the  I  .yngen  Fiord,  was  able  to  give  us  some 
information  about  the  country.  He  encouraged  us  in  the 
belief  that  we  should  find  the  journey  more  rapid  and  easy 
in  winter  than  in  summer.  He  said  the  Swedes  feared  thr 


FIRST  EXPERIENCES  OF  SORT  HERN  TRAVEL.          33 

North  and  few  of  them  ever  made  a  winter  journey  thither, 
but  nothing  could  stop  the  Americans  and  the  English  from 
going  anywhere.  He  also  comforted  us  with  the  assurance 
that  we  should  find  snow  only  six  Swedish  (forty  English) 
miles  further  north.  Lat.  60°  35'  N.,  the  17th  of  December 
and  no  snow  yet !  In  the  streets,  we  met  an  organ-grinder 
playing  the  Marseillaise.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  jet- 
black  hair,  the  golden  complexion  and  the  brilliant  eyes  o. 
the  player,  "  Siete  Italiano  ?"  1  asked.  "  Siciiro  /"  he 
answered,  joyously:  "e  lei  anche?''  "Ah,"  he  said,  in 
answer  to  my  questions,  "  io  non  amo  questo  paese ;  2 
freddo  ed  oscuro  ;  noti  si  gagna  mente — ma  in  Italia  si 
vive"  My  friend  Ziegler  had  already  assured  me :  "  One 
should  see  the  North,  but  not  after  the  South."  Well,  we 
shall  see;  but  I  confess  that  twenty  degrees  below  zero 
would  have  chilled  me  less  than  the  sight  of  that  Italian. 

We  were  at  the  inn  punctually  at  six  in  the  morning,  but 
our  horses  were  not  ready.  The  hallkarl,  or  ostler,  after 
hearing  my  remonstrances,  went  on  splitting  wood,  and,  aa 
I  did  not  know  enough  of  Swedish  to  scold  with  any  profit, 
I  was  obliged  to  remain  wrathful  and  silent.  He  insisted 
on  my  writing  something  (I  could  not  understand  what)  in 
the  post-book,  so  I  copied  the  affidavit  of  a  preceding  travel- 
ler and  signed  my  name  to  it,  which  seemed  to  answer  the 
purpose.  After  more  than  half  an  hour,  two  rough  two- 
wheeled  carts  were  gotten  ready,  and  the  farmers  to  whom 
they  belonged,  packed  themselves  and  our  luggage  into  one, 
leaving:  us  to  drive  the  other.  We  mounted,  rolled  ourselves 
in  our  furs,  thrust  our  feet  into  the  hay,  and  rattled  out  of 
Gene  in  the  frosty  moonlight,  Such  wag  our  first  ex- 
perience of  travelling  by  skjiits. 


34  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

The  road  went  northward,  into  dark  forests,  over  th« 
same  undulating,  yet  monotonous  country  as  before.  The 
ground  was  rough  and  hard,  and  our  progress  slow,  so  that 
we  did  not  reach  the  end  of  the  first  station  (10  miles)  until 
nine  o'clock.  As  we  drove  into  the  post-house,  three  other 
travellers,  who  had  the  start  of  us,  and  consequently  the  first 
right  to  horses,  drove  away.  I  was  dismayed  to  find  that 
my  f Orbit d  had  not  been  received,  but  the  ostler  informed 
me  that  by  paying  twelve  skillings  extra  I  could  have  horses 
at  once.  While  the  new  carts  were  getting  ready,  the  post- 
man, wrapped  in  wolf-skin,  and  with  a  face  reddened  by  the 
wind  came  up,  and  handed  out  my  fdrbud  ticket.  Such 
was  our  first  experience  of  fdrbud. 

On  the  next  station,  the  peasant  who  was  ahead  with  our 
luggage  left  the  main  road  and  took  a  rough  track  through 
the  woods.  Presently  we  came  to  a  large  inlet  of  the 
Bothnia n  gulf,  frozen  solid  from  shore  to  shore,  and  upon 
this  we  boldly  struck  out.  The  ice  was  nearly  a  foot  thick, 
and  as  solid  as  marble.  So  we  drove  for  at  least  four  miles, 
and  finally  came  to  land  on  the  opposite  side,  near  a  saw- 
mill. At  the  next  post-house  we  found  our  predecessors 
just  setting  off  again  in  sleds ;  the  landlord  informed  us  that 
he  had  only  received  my  fdrbud  an  hour  previous,  and, 
according  to  law  was  allowed  three  hours  to  get  ready  his 
§econd  instalment  of  horses,  the  first  being  exhausted. 
There  was  no  help  for  it :  we  therefore  comforted  ourselves 
with  breakfast.  At  one  o'clock  we  set  out  again  in  low 
Norrland  sleds,  but  there  was  little  snow  at  first,  and  we 
were  obliged  to  walk  the  first  few  miles.  The  station  was  a 
long  one  (twenty  English  miles),  and  our  horses  not  thf 


fIRST   EXPERIENCES   OF   NORTHERN  TRAVEL.  35 

most  promising.  Coming  upon  solid  suow  at  last,  we 
travelled  rather  more  swiftly,  but  with  more  risk.  The 
sleds,  although  so  low,  rest  upon  narrow  runners,  and  the 
shafts  are  attached  by  a  hook,  upon  which  they  turn  in  all 
directions,  so  that  the  sled  sways  from  side  to  side,  entirely 
independent  of  them.  In  going  off  the  main  road  to  get  a 
little  more  snow  on  a  side  track,  I  discovered  this  fact  by 
overturning  the  sled,  and  pitching  Braisted  and  myself  out 
on  our  heads.  There  were  lakes  on  either  side,  and  we  made 
many  miles  on  the  hard  ice,  which  split  with  a  dull  sound 
under  us.  Long  after  dark,  we  reached  the  next  station, 
Stratjara,  and  found  our  horses  in  readiness.  We  started 
again,  by  the  gleam  of  a  flashing  aurora,  going  through 
forests  and  fields  in  the  uncertain  light,  blindly  following 
our  leader,  Braisted  and  I  driving  by  turns,  and  already 
much  fatigued.  After  a  long  time,  we  descended  a  steep- 
hill,  to  the  Ljusne  River.  The  water  foamed  and  thundered 
under  the  bridge,  and  I  could  barely  see  that  it  fell  in  a 
series  of  rapids  over  the  rocks. 

At  Mo  Myskie,  which  we  reached  at  eight  o'clock,  our 
horses  had  been  ready  four  hours,  which  gave  us  a  dollai 
banco  v  intapenningar  (waiting  money)  to  pay.  The  land- 
lord, a  sturdy,  jolly  fellow,  with  grizzly  hair  and  a  prosper- 
ous abdomen,  asked  if  we  were  French,  and  I  addressed  him 
in  that  language.  He  answered  in  English  on  finding  that 
we  were  Americans.  On  his  saying  that  he  had  learned 
English  in  Tripoli,  I  addressed  him  in  Arabic.  His  eyea 
flashed,  he  burst  into  a  roaring  laugh  of  the  profoundest 
delight,  and  at  once  answered  in  the  majestic  gutturals  of 
the  Orient.  "Allah  akhbar !"  he  cried;  "I  have  beei 


36  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

waiting  twenty  years  for  some  one  to  speak  to  me  in  Arabic 
and  you  are  the  first !"  He  afterwards  changed  to  Italian 
which  he  spoke  perfectly  well,  and  preferred  to  any  foreigi 
language.  We  were  detained  half  an  hour  by  his  delight, 
and  went  off  forgetting  to  pay  for  a  bottle  of  beer,  the  price 
of  which  T  sent  back  by  the  skjiitsbonde,  or  postillion. 

This  skjutsbonde  was  a  stupid  fellow,  who  took  us  a  long, 
circuitous  road,  in  order  to  save  time.  We  hurried  along 
in  the  darkness,  constantly  crying  out  "Kir pa/*  (Drive 
on !)  and  narrowly  missing  a  hundred  overturns.  It  was 
eleven  at  night  before  we  reached  the  inn  at  Kungsgarden, 
where,  fortunately,  the  people  were  awake,  and  the  pleasant 
old  landlady  soon  had  our  horses  ready.  We  had  yet  six- 
teen English  miles  to  Bro,  our  lodging-place,  where  we 
should  have  arrived  by  eight  o'clock.  I  hardly  know  how 
to  describe  the  journey.  We  were  half  asleep,  tired  out 
nearly  frozen,  (mercury  below  zero)  and  dashed  along  at 
haphazard,  through  vast  dark  forests,  up  hill  and  down, 
following  the  sleepy  boy  who  drove  ahead  with  our  baggage. 
A  dozen  times  the  sled,  swaying  from  side  to  side  like  a 
pendulum,  tilted,  hung  in  suspense  a  second,  and  then 
righted  itself  again.  The  boy  fell  back  on  the  hay  and 
slept,  until  Braisted,  creeping  up  behind,  startled  him  with 
terrific  yells  in  his  ears.  Away  then  dashed  the  horse,  down 
Bteep  declivities,  across  open,  cultivated  valleys,  and  into  the 
woods  again.  After  midnight  the  moon  rose,  and  the  cold 
was  intenser  than  ever.  The  boy  having  fallen  asleep  again, 
the  horse  took  advantage  of  it  to  run  off  at  full  speed,  we 
following  at  the  same  rate,  sometimes  losintr  sight  of  him 
ind  uncertain  of  our  way,  until,  after  a  chase  of  a  few  miles 


FIRST   EXPERIENCES   OF  NORTHERN  TRAVEL.  3? 

lire  found  the  boy  getting  his  reins  out  from  under  the 
runners.  Finally,  after  two  in  the  morning,  we  reached 
Bro. 

Here  we  had  ordered  a  warm  room,  beds  and  supper,  by 
fftrbud.  but  found  neither.  A  sleepy,  stupid  girl,  who  had 
just  got  up  to  wait  on  a  captain  who  had  arrived  before  us 
and  was  going  on,  told  us  there  was  nothing  to  be  had 
"  We  must  eat,  if  we  have  to  eat  you"  I  said,  savagely,  for 
we  were  chilled  through  and  fierce  with  hunger ;  but  I  might 
as  well  have  tried  to  hurry  the  Venus  de  Medici.  At  last 
we  got  some  cold  sausage,  a  fire,  and  two  couches,  on  which 
we  lay  down  without  undressing,  and  slept.  I  had  scarcely 
closed  my  eyes,  it  seemed,  when  the  girl,  who  was  to  call  ug 
at  half-past  five  o'clock,  came  into  the  room.  "  Is  it  half- 
past  five  ?"  I  asked.  "  Oh,  yes,"  she  coolly  answered,  "  it;s 
much  more."  We  were  obliged  to  hurry  off  at  once  to  avoid 
paying  so  much  waiting  money. 

At  sunrise  we  passed  Hudiksvall,  a  pretty  town  at  the 
head  of  a  deep  bay,  in  which  several  vessels  were  frozen  up 
for  the  winter.  There  were  some  handsome  country  houses 
in  the  vicinity,  better  cultivation,  more  taste  in  building, 
and  a  few  apple  and  cherry  orchards.  The  mercury  was 
atill  at  zero,  but  we  suffered  less  from  the  cold  than  the  day 
previous,  and  began  to  enjoy  our  mode  of  travel.  The 
horses  were  ready  at  all  the  stations  on  our  arrival,  and  w« 
were  not  delayed  in  changing.  There  was  now  plenty  of 
snow,  and  the  roads  were  splendid — the  country  undulating, 
w3th  beautiful,  deep  valleys,  separated  by  high,  wooded  hills, 
and  rising  to  bold  ridges  in  the  interior.  The  houses  were 
larger  and  better  than  we  had  yet  seen — so  were  the  peopl* 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 


—  and  there  was  a  general  air  of  progress  and  well-doing 
In  fact,  both  country  and  population  improved  in  appearance 
as  we  went  northward. 

The  night  set  in  very  dark  and  cold,  threatening  snow 
We  had  an  elephant  of  a  horse,  which  kicked  up  his  heel 
and  frisked  like  an  awkward  bull-pup,  dashed  down  the  hilla 
like  an  avalanche,  and  carried  us  forward  at  a  rapid  rate. 
We  coiled  ourselves  up  in  the  hay,  kept  warm,  and  trusted 
our  safety  to  Providence,  for  it  was  impossible  to  see  the 
road,  and  we  could  barely  distinguish  the  other  sled,  a  dark 
speck  before  us.  The  old  horse  soon  exhausted  his  en- 
thusiasm. Braisted  lost  the  whip,  and  the  zealous  boy 
ahead  stopped  every  now  and  then  to  hurry  us  on.  The 
aurora  gleamed  but  faintly  through  the  clouds  ;  we  were 
nearly  overcome  with  sleep  and  fatigue,  but  took  turns  in 
arousing  and  amusing  each  other.  The  sled  vibrated  con- 
tinually from  side  to  side,  and  finally  went  over,  spilling 
ourselves  and  our  guns  into  a  snow-bank  The  horse  stop- 
ped and  waited  for  us,  and  then  went  on  until  the  shafts 
came  off.  Toward  ten  o'clock,  the  lights  of  Sundsvall 
appeared,  and  we  soon  afterwards  drove  into  the  yard  of  the 
inn,  having  made  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles  in  two  days. 
We  were  wretchedly  tired,  and  hungry  as  bears,  but  found 
room  in  an  adjoining  house,  and  succeeded  in  getting  a  sup- 
per of  reindeer  steak.  I  fell  asleep  in  my  chair,  before  my 
pipe  was  half  -finished,  and  awoke  the  next  morning  to  a  sens* 
of  real  fatig  ie.  I  had  had  enough  of  travelling  by  fOrbtid 


A    SLEIGH    HIDE    THROUGH     XOKRLAND.  39 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  SLEIGH  RIDE  THROUGH  NORRLAND. 

SDNDSVALL  is  a  pretty  little  town  of  two  or  three 
thousand  inhabitants,  situated  at  the  head  of  a  broad  and 
magnificent  bay.  It  is  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  only 
post-road  across  the  mountains  to  Trondjem  (Drontheim)  in 
Norway  which  passes  through  the  extensive  province  oi 
Jemtelaud.  It  is,  consequently,  a  lively  and  bustling 
place,  and  has  a  considerable  coasting  trade  The  day  after 
our  arrival  was  market-day,  and  hundreds  of  the  Norrlanders 
thronged  the  streets  and  public  square.  They  were  all 
fresh,  strong,  coarse,  honest,  healthy  people — the  men  with 
long  yellow  hair,  large  noses  and  blue  eyes,  the  women  with 
the  rosiest  of  checks  and  the  fullest  development  of  body 
and  limb.  Many  of  the  latter  wore  basques  or  jackets  ol 
sheepskin  with  the  wool  inside,  striped  petticoats  and  bright 
red  stockings.  The  men  were  dressed  in  shaggy  sheepskin 
coats,  or  garments  of  reindeer  skin,  with  the  hair  outward. 
There  was  a  vast  collection  of  low  Norrland  sleds,  laden 
*ith  butter,  cheese,  hay,  and  wild  game,  and  drawn  by  th( 
rough  and  tough  little  horses  of  the  country.  Here  wa§ 
plenty  of  life  and  animation,  although  we  were  already 


XORTHERN   TRAVEL 


so  far  rorth  that  the  sun  did  not  shine  upon  Sundsvall  the 
whole  day,  being  hidden  by  a  low  hill  to  the  south.  The 
snowy  ridges  on  the  north,  however,  wore  a  bright  roseate 
blush  from  his  rays,  from  ten  until  two. 

We  called  upon  a  merchant  of  the  place,  to  whom  I  had 
a  letter  of  introduction.  He  was  almost  the  only  man  I 
met  before  undertaking  the  journey,  who  encouraged  me  to 
push  on.  "The  people  in  Stockholm,"  said  he,  "know 
nothing  about  Northern  Sweden."  He  advised  me  to  give 
up  travelling  by  f&rbud,  to  purchase  a  couple  of  sleds,  and 
take  our  chance  of  finding  horses :  we  would  have  no  trouble 
in  making  from  forty  to  fifty  English  miles  per  day.  On 
returning  to  the  inn,  I  made  the  landlord  understand  v;hat 
we  wanted,  but  could  not  understand  him  in  return.  At 
this  juncture  came  in  a  handsome  fellow/  with  a  cosmopolitan 
air,  whom  Braisted  recognised,  by  certain  invisible  signs,  a* 
the  mate  of  a  ship,  and  who  explained  the  matter  in  very 
good  English.  I  purchae°d  two  plain  but  light  and 
strongly  made  sleds  for  50  rigs  (about  $14  ),  which  seemed 
very  cheap,  but,  I  afterwards  learned  that  I  paid  much  more 
than  the  current  price. 

On  repacking  our  effects,  we  found  that  everything  liquid 
iras  frozen — even  a  camphorated  mixture,  which  had  been 
carefully  wrapped  in  flannel.  The  cold,  therefore,  must 
have  been  much  more  severe  than  we  supposed.  Our  sup- 
plies, also,  were  considerably  damaged — the  lantern  broken, 
a  powder-flask  cracked,  and  the  salt,  shot,  nails,  wad- 
ding, <fcc.,  mixed  together  in  beautiful  confusion.  Every- 
thing was  stowed  in  one  of  the  sleds,  which  was  driven  by 
the  postilion ;  the  other  contained  only  our  two  selves.  We 


A    SLEIGH   RIDE   THROUGH   NORRLAND.  41 

were  off  the  next  morning,  as  the  first  streaks  of  dawc 
appeared  in  the  sky.  The  roads  about  Sundsvall  were 
very  much  cut  up,  and  even  before  getting  out  of  the  town 
we  were  pitched  over  head  and  ears  into  a  snow-bank. 

We  climbed  slowly  up  and  darted  headlong  down  the 
idges  which  descend  from  the  west  toward  the  Bothnian 
Gulf,  dividing  its  tributary  rivers ;  and  toward  sunrise,  came 
to  a  broad  bay,  completely  frozen  over  and  turned  into  a 
snowy  plain.  With  some  difficulty  the  skjutsbonde  made 
me  understand  that  a  shorter  road  led  across  the  ice  to  the 
second  post-station,  Fjal,  avoiding  one  change  of  horses. 
The  way  was  rough  enough  at  first,  over  heaped  blocks  of 
ice,  but  became  smoother  where  the  wind  had  full  sweep,  and 
had  cleared  the  waier  before  it  froze.  Our  road  was  marked 
out  by  a  double  ro-.v  of  young  fir-trees,  planted  in  the  ice. 
The  bay  was  completely  land-locked,  embraced  by  a  bold 
sweep  of  wooded  hills,  with  rich,  populous  valleys  between. 
Before  us,  three  or  four  miles  across,  lay  the  little  port  of 
Wifsta-warf,  where  several  vessels — among  them  a  ship  of 
three  or  four  hundred  tuns — were  frozen  in  for  the  winter. 
We  crossed,  ascended  a  long  hill,  and  drove  on  through  fir 
woods  to  Fjal,  a  little  hamlet  with  a  large  inn.  Here  we 
got  breakfast ;  and  though  it  may  be  in  bad  taste  to  speak 
of  what  one  eats,  the  breakfast  was  in  such  good  taste  that 
I  cannot  pass  over  it  without  lingering  to  enjoy,  in  memory 
its  wonderful  aroma.  Besides,  if  it  be  true,  as  some  shock 
ingly  gross  persons  assert,  that  the  belly  is  a  more  important 
district  of  the  human  economy  than  the  brain,  a  good  meal 
deserves  chronicling  no  less  than  an  exalted  impression. 
Certain  it  is,  that  strong  digestive  are  to  be  preferred  tc 


42  NORTHERN    TIIAVKL. 

strong  thinking  powers — better  live  unknown  than  die  oi 
dyspepsia.  This  was  our  first  country  meal  in  Non-land,  of 
whose  fare  the  Stockholmers  have  a  horror,  yet  that  stately 
capital  never  furnished  a  better.  We  had  beefsteak  and 
onions,  delicious  blood-puddings,  the  tenderest  of  pan-cakes 
(no  omelette  soujflee  could  be  more  fragile),  with  ruby  rasp- 
berry j  im,  and  a  bottle  of  genuine  English  porter.  If  you 
think  the  bill  of  fare  too  heavy  and  solid,  take  a  drive  o 
fifteen  miles  in  the  regions  of  Zero,  and  then  let  your 
delicate  stomach  decide. 

In  a  picturesque  dell  near  Fj&l  we  crossed  the  rapid 
Indal  River,  which  comes  down  from  the  mountains  oi 
Norway.  The  country  was  wild  and  broken,  with  occasional 
superb  views  over  frozen  arms  of  the  Gulf,  and  the  deep 
rich  valleys  stretching  inland.  Leaving  Hernosand,  the 
capital  of  the  province,  a  few  miles  to  our  right,  we  kept  the 
main  northern  road,  slowly  advancing  from  station  to  sta- 
tion with  old  and  tired  horses.  There  was  a  snow-storm  in 
the  afternoon,  after  which  the  sky  came  out  splendidly  clear, 
and  gorgeous  with  the  long  northern  twilight.  In  the 
alienee  of  the  hour  and  the  deepening  shadows  of  the  furi-st 
through  which  we  drove,  it  was  startling  to  hear,  all  at 
once  the  sound  of  voices  singing  a  solemn  hymn.  My  first 
idea  was,  that  some  of  those  fanatical  Dissenters  of  Norr- 
land  who  meet,  as  once  the  Scotch  Covenanters,  among  the 
hills,  were  having  a  refreshing  winter  meeting  in  the  woods , 
but  on  proceeding  further  we  found  that  the  choristers  were 
a  company  of  peasants  returning  from  market  with  theil 
smpty  sleds. 
It  was  already  dark  at  four  o'clock,  and  our  last  horses 


A   SLKKJH   RII»r.   THRor<;H    NOKKI.AND.  43 

were  BO  slow  that  the  postilion,  a  handsome,  lively  boy 
whose  pride  was  a  little  touched  by  my  remonstrances,  failed 
in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  to  bring  us  to  the  station  before 
seven.  We  stopped  at  Weda,  on  the  Angerinann  River,  the 
largest  stream  in  Northern  Sweden.  Angermannland,  the 
country  which  it  drains,  is  said  to  be  a  very  wild  and 
beautiful  region,  where  some  traces  of  the  old,  original 
Asiatic  type  which  peopled  Scandinavia  are  yet  to  be  traced 
in  the  features  of  its  secluded  population.  At  Weda,  wf 
found  excellent  quarters.  A  neat,  quiet,  old-fashioned  little 
servant-girl,  of  twelve  or  fourteen,  took  charge  of  us,  and 
attended  to  all  our  wants  with  the  greatest  assiduity.  We 
had  a  good  supper,  a  small  but  neat  room,  clean  beds,  and 
coffee  in  the  morning,  beside  a  plentiful  provision  for 
breakfast  on  the  way,  for  a  sum  equal  to  seventy-five  cents. 
We  left  at  half-past  seven,  the  waning  moon  hanging  on 
the  horizon,  and  the  first  almost  imperceptible  signs  of  the 
morning  twilight  in  the  east.  The  Angerinann  River 
which  is  here  a  mile  broad,  was  frozen,  and  our  road  led 
iirectly  across  its  surface.  The  wind  blew  down  it,  across 
the  snow-covered  ice,  making  our  faces  tingle  with  premo- 
nitory signs  of  freezing,  as  the  mercury  was  a  little  below 
zero.  My  hands  were  chilled  inside  the  fur  mittens,  and  1 
was  obliged  to  rub  my  nose  frequently,  to  prevent  it  from 
being  nipped.  The  day  was  raw  and  chilly,  and  the  tem- 
perature rose  very  little,  although  the  hills  occasionally 
sheltered  us  from  the  wind.  The  scenery,  also,  grew  darker 
ind  wilder  as  we  advanced.  The  fir-trees  were  shorter  and 
stunted,  and  of  a  dark  greenish-brown,  which  at  a  little 
iistance  appeared  completely  black.  Nothing  could  exceed 


44  XOUTHKKX   TKAVKI,. 

the  bleak,  inhospitable  character  of  these  lan<l>e;i]ies.  The 
inlets  of  the  Bothnian  Gulf  were  hard,  snow-covered  plains 
inclosed  b}  bold,  rugged  headlands,  covered  with  ink-black 
forests.  The  more  distant  ridges  faded  into  a  dull  indigc 
hue.  flecked  with  patches  of  ghastly  white,  under  the  lower- 
ing, sullen,  shwt-lived  daylight. 

Our  road  was  much  rougher  than  hitherto.  We  climbed 
long  ridges,  only  to  descend  by  as  steep  declivities  on  the 
northern  side,  to  cross  the  bed  of  an  inland  stream,  and  then 
ascend  again.  The  valleys,  however,  were  inhabited  and 
apparently  well  cultivated,  for  the  houses  were  large  and 
comfortable,  and  the  people  had  a  thrifty,  prosperous  and 
satisfied  air.  Beside  the  farmhouses  were  immense  racks, 
twenty  feet  high,  for  the  purpose  of  drying  flax  and  grain, 
and  at  the  stations  the  people  offered  for  sale  very  fino  and 
beautiful  linen  of  their  own  manufacture.  This  is  the 
staple  production  of  Norrland,  where  the  short  summers  are 
frequently  insufficient  to  mature  the  grain  crops.  The  inna 
were  all  comfortable  buildings,  with  very  fair  accommodations 
for  travellers.  We  had  bad  luck  with  horses  this  day, 
however,  two  or  three  travellers  having  been  in  advance  and 
had  the  pick.  On  one  stage  our  bagga see-sled  was  driven 
by  a  poike  of  not  more  than  ten  years  old — a  darling  fellow, 
with  a  face  as  round,  fresh  and  sweet  as  a  damask  rose,  the 
oluest  of  eyes,  and  a  cloud  of  silky  golden  hair.  His  sue- 
ressor  was  a  tall,  lazy  lout,  who  stopped  so  frequently  to 
Ulk  with  the  drivers  of  sleds  behind  us.  that  we  lost  all 
patience,  drove  past  and  pushed  ahead  in  the  darkness, 
trusting  our  horse  to  find  the  way.  His  horse  followed, 
leaving  him  in  the  lurch,  and  we  gave  him  a  long-winded 


A     Sl.KICH     KIUF.    TIlKonill     XOIM'.I.ANH.  45 

chase  astern  before  we  allowed  liim  to  overtake  us.  This 
so  exasperated  him  that  we  had  no  trouble  the  rest  of  the 
way.  Mem. — If  you  wish  to  travel  with  speed,  make  your 
postilion  aiiiiTY. 

At  Hijriia's  they  ifave  us  a  supper  of  ale  and  cold  pig's 
feet,  admirable  beds,  and  were  oidy  deficient  in  the  matter 
of  water  for  washing.  We  awoke  with  headaches,  on  account 
of  gas  from  the  tight  Russian  stove.  The  temperature,  at 
starting,  was  22°  below  zero — colder  than  either  of  us  had 
ever  before  known.  We  were  a  little  curious,  at  first,  to 
know  how  we  should  endure  it,  but,  to  our  delight,  found 
ourselves  quite  warm  and  comfortable.  The  air  was  still, 
dry,  and  delicious  to  inhale.  My  nose  occasionally  required 
friction,  and  my  beard  and  moustache  became  a  solid  mass 
of  ice,  frozen  together  so  that  I  could  scarcely  open  my 
mouth,  and  firmly  fastened  to  my  fur  collar.  We  travelled 
forty-nine  miles,  and  were  twelve  hours  on  the  way,  yet  felt 
no  inconvenience  from  the  temperature. 

By  this  time  it  was  almost  wholly  a  journey  by  night, 
dawn  and  twilight,  for  full  day  there  was  none.  The  sun 
rose  at  ten  and  set  at  two.  We  skimmed  along,  over  the 
black,  fir-clothed  hills,  and  across  the  pleasant  little  valleys, 
in  the  long,  gray,  slowly-gathering  daybreak :  then,  heavy 
snow-clouds  hid  half  the  brief  day,  and  the  long,  long,  dusky 
evening  glow  settled  into  night.  The  sleighing  was  superb, 
the  snow  pure  as  ivory,  hard  as  marble,  and  beautifully  crisp 
and  smooth.  Our  sleds  glided  over  it  without  effort,  the 
runners  making  music  as  they  flew.  With  every  day  the 
country  grew  wilder,  blacker  and  more  rugged,  with  no 
change  in  the  general  character  of  the  scenery,  [n  the 
3* 


46  NOK1I1KHX 

afternoon  we  passed  the  frontier  of  Norrland,  ana  entered 
the  province  of  West  Bothnia.  There  are  fewer  horses  a1 
the  stations,  as  we  go  north,  but  also  fewer  travellers,  and  wa 
were  not  often  detained.  Thus  far,  we  had  no  difficulty  : 
my  scanty  stock  of  Swedish  went  a  great  way,  and  I  began 
to  understand  with  more  facility,  even  the  broad  Norrland 
dialect. 

The  people  of  this  region  are  noble  specimens  of  tti 
physical  man — tall,  broad-shouldered,  large-liinbed,  ruddy 
and  powerful ;  and  they  are  mated  with  women  who,  I  ven- 
ture to  say,  do  not  even  suspect  the  existence  of  a  nervous 
system.  The  natural  consequences  of  such  health  are: 
morality  and  honesty — to  say  nothing  of  the  quantities  of 
rosy  and  robust  children  which  bless  every  household.  If 
health  and  virtue  cannot  secure  happiness,  nothing  can,  and 
these  Norrlanders  appear  to  be  a  thoroughly  happy  and 
contented  race.  We  had  occasional  reason  to  complain  of 
their  slowness ;  but,  then,  why  should  they  be  fast  ?  It  is 
rather  we  who  should  moderate  our  speed.  Braisted,  how- 
ever, did  not  accept  such  a  philosophy.  •'*  Charles  XII.  was 
the  boy  to  manage  the  Swedes,"  said  he  to  me  one  day ;  "  he 
always  kept  them  in  a  hurry.'' 

We  reached  Lefwar,  our  resting-place  for  the  night,  in 
good  condition,  notwithstanding  the  22°  below,  and  felt 
much  colder  in  the  house,  after  stripping  off  our  furs,  than 
out  of  doors  with  them  on.  They  gave  us  a  supper  consist- 
ing of  srndrgas  ("  buttergoose" — the  Swedish  prelude  to  a 
meal,  consisting  usually  of  bread,  butter,  pickled  anchovies 
and  caviar  flavored  with  garlic),  sausages,  potatoes,  and  milk 
and  made  for  us  sumptuous  beds  of  the  snowiest  and  sweetesf 


A   SLEIGH   RIDE   THROUGH   XUHRI.AXl  4J 

linen.  When  we  rose  next  morning  it  was  snowing 
About  an  inch  had  fallen  during  the  night,  and  the  mercury 
had  riser,  to  6°  below  zero.  We  drove  along  in  the  dusky 
half-twilight  toward  Angesjo.  over  low,  broad  hills,  covered 
with  forests  of  stunted  birch  and  fir.  The  scenery  con- 
tinued the  same,  and  there  is  no  use  in  repeating  the 
description,  except  to  say  that  the  land  became  more  cold 
and  barren,  and  there  seemed  to  be  few  things  cultivated 
except  flax,  barley  and  potatoes.  Still  the  same  ridges 
sweeping  down  to  the  Gulf,  on  one  hand,  the  same  frozen 
bays  and  inlets  on  the  other,  and  villages  at  intervals  of 
eight  or  ten  miles,  each  with  its  great  solid  church,  low  red 
belfry  and  deserted  encampment  of  red  frame  stab'lea 
Before  reaching  the  second  station,  we  looked  from  a  wooded 
height  over  the  open  expanse  of  the  Gulf, — a  plain  of  snow- 
covered  ice,  stretching  eastward  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach. 

The  day  gradually  became  still  and  cold,  until  the  tem- 
perature reached — 22°  again,  and  we  became  comfortable  in 
the  same  proportion.  The  afternoon  twilight,  splendid  with 
its  hues  of  amber,  rose  and  saffron,  died  away  so  gradually, 
that  it  seemed  scarcely  to  fade  at  all,  lighting  our  path  for 
at  least  three  hours  after  sunset.  Our  postilions  were  all 
boys — ruddy,  hardy  young  fellows  of  fourteen  or  fifteen,  who 
drove  well  and  sang  incessantly,  in  spite  of  the  cold.  They 
talked  much  with  us,  but  to  little  purpose,  as  I  found  it 
very  difficult  to  understand  the  humming  dialect  they  spoke 

•3ach,  as  he  received  his  driclcpenninffar  (drink-money,  01 
gratuity),  at  the  end  of  the  station,  expressed  his  thanks  b\ 

shaking    hands    with    us.      This    is    a    universal    custom 


48  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

throughout  the  north  of  Sweden :  it  is  a  part  of  the  simplt 
natural  habits  of  the  people ;  and  though  it  seemed  rathei 
odd  at  first  to  be  shaking  hands  with  everybody,  from  tht 
landlord  down  to  the  cook  and  the  ostler,  we  soon  came  tc 
take  it  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  frank,  unaffected  way 
in  which  the  hand  was  offered,  oftener  made  the  custom  a 
pleasant  one. 

At  Stocksjo  we  decided  to  push  on  to  a  station  beyond 
Umea,  called  Innertafle,  and  took  our  horses  accordingly. 
The  direct  road,  however,  was  unused  on  account  of  the 
drifts,  so  we  went  around  through  Umea,  after  all.  We 
had  nearly  a  Swedish  mile,  and  it  was  just  dark  when  we 
descended  to  the  Umea  River,  across  whose  solid  surface  we 
drove,  and  up  a  steep  bank  into  the  town.  We  stopped  a 
few  moments  in  the  little  public  square,  which  was  crowded 
with  people,  many  of  whom  had  already  commenced  their 
Christmas  sprees  The  shops  were  lighted,  and  the  little 
town  looked  very  gay  and  lively.  Passing  through,  we  kept 
down  the  left  bank  of  the  river  for  a  little  distance,  and  then 
struck  into  the  woods.  It  was  night  by  this  time ;  all  at 
once  the  boy  stopped,  mounted  a  snow-  bank,  whirled  around 
three  or  four  times,  and  said  something  to  me  which  I  could 
not  understand.  "What's  the  matter?"  I  asked  ;  "  is  not 
this  the  road  to  Innertafle?"  "  I  don't  know — I  think  not," 
he  said.  "  Don't  you  know  the  way.  then  ?"  I  asked  again 
"  No !"  he  yelled  in  reply,  whirled  around  several  times 
more,  and  then  drove  on.  Presently  we  overtook  a  pedes 
trian.  to  whom  he  turned  for  advice,  and  who  willingly  acted 
%s  guide  for  the  sake  of  a  ride.  Away  we  went  again,  but 
the  snow  was  so  spotless  that  it  was  impossible  to  see  the 


A   SLEIGH   HIDE  THROUGH   NORRLAND  49 

track.  Braisted  and  1  ran  upon  a  snow-bank,  were  over 
turned  and  dragged  some  little  distance,  but  we  righted 
ourselves  again,  and  soon  afterwards  reached  our  destina- 
tion. 

In  the  little  inn  the  guests'  room  lay  behind  the  large 
family  kitchen,  through  which  we  were  obliged  to  pass. 
We  wepe  seized  with  a  shivering  fit  on  stripping  off  our 
furs,  and  it  seemed  scarcely  possible  to  get  warm  again. 
This  was  followed  by  such  intense  drowsiness  that  we  were 
obliged  to  lie  down  and  sleep  an  hour  before  supper.  After 
the  cold  weather  set  in,  we  were  attacked  with  this  drowsy 
fit  every  day,  toward  evening,  and  were  obliged  to  take 
turns  in  arousing  and  stimulating  each  other.  This  we 
generally  accomplished  by  singing  "  From  Greenland's  icy 
mountains,"  and  othei  appropriate  melodies.  At  Innertafle 
we  were  attended  by  a  tall  landlady,  a  staid,  quiet,  almost 
grim  person,  who  paid  most  deliberate  heed  to  our  wants 
After  a  delay  of  mure  than  two  hours,  she  furnished  us  with 
a  supper  consisting  of  some  kind  of  fresh  fish,  with  a  sauce 
composed  of  milk,  sugar  and  onions,  followed  by  gryn^r&t, 
a  warm  mush  of  mixed  rice  and  barley,  eaten  with  milk 
Such  was  our  fare  on  Christmas  eve ;  but  hunger  is  th< 
best  sauce  and  our  dishes  were  plent:fully  seasoned  with  it 


50  NORTHKKX     TKAVKI,. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PROGRESS   NORTHWARDS.— A  STORM. 

WE  arose  betimes  on  Christmas  morn,  but  the  grim  and 
deliberate  landlady  detained  us  an  hour  in  preparing  oui 
coffee.  I  was  in  the  yard  about  five  minutes,  wearing  only 
my  cloth  overcoat  and  no  glc/es,  and  found  the  air  truly 
sharp  and  nipping,  but  not  painfully  severe.  Presently, 
Braisted  came  running  in  with  the  thermometer,  exclaiming, 
with  a  yell  of  triumph,  "  Thirty,  by  Jupiter !"  (30°  ol 
ReaumW,  equal  to  35 i°  below  zero  of  Fahrenheit.)  We 
were  delighted  with  this  sign  of  our  approach  to  the  Arctic 
circle. 

The  horses  were  at  last  ready ;  we  muffled  up  carefully, 
and  set  out.  The  dawn  was  just  streaking  the  East,  the 
sky  was  crystal-clear,  and  not  a  breath  of  air  stirring.  My 
oeara  was  soon  a  solid  mass  of  ice,  from  the  moisture  of  my 
breath,  and  my  nose  required  constant  friction.  The  day 
previous,  the  ice  which  had  gathered  on  my  fur  collar  lay 
against  my  face  so  long  that  the  flesh  began  to  freeze  over 
my  cheek  bones,  and  thereafter  I  was  obliged  to  be  par- 
ticularly cautious.  As  it  grew  lighter,  we  were  surprised 
to  find  that  our  postilion  was  a  gill.  She  had  a  heavy 


I'liOi.Kv.ss  N:HCTII\VAKI>S. — A  STORM  5) 

sheepskin  over  her  knees,  u  muff  for  her  hands,  and  a  shawi 
around  her  head,  leaving  only  the  eyes  visible.  Thus 
accoutred,  she  drove  on  merrily,  and,  except  that  the  red  oi 
her  cheeks  became  scarlet  and  purple,  showed  no  signs  of  the 
weather.  As  we  approached  Sormjole,  the  first  station,  w 
again  had  a  broad  view  of  the  frozen  Bothnian  Gulf,  ovei 
which  hovered  a  low  cloud  of  white  ice-smoke  Looking 
di>wu  into  the  snowy  valley  of  Sormjole,  we  saw  the  straight 
pillars  of  smoke  rising  from  the  houses  high  into  the  air, 
not  spreading,  but  gradually  breaking  off  into  solid  masses 
which  sank  again  and  tilled  the  hollow,  almost  concealing 
the  houses.  (July  the  white,  handsome  church,  with  its  tall 
Bpire,  seated  on  a  mound,  rose  above  this  pale  blue  film  and 
shone  softly  in  the  growing  Hush  of  day. 

We  ordered  horses  at  once,  after  drinking  a  bowl  of  hoi 
milk,  flavored  with  cinnamon.  This  is  the  favourite  win- 
ter drink  of  the  people,  some-times  with  the  addition  :>f 
brandy.  But  thajSn&el,  or  common  brandy  of  Sweden,  is  a 
detestable  beverage,  resembling  a  mixture  of  turpentine, 
train  oil,  and  bad  molasses,  and  we  took  the  milk  unmixed, 
which  admirably  assisted  in  keeping  up  the  animal  heat. 
The  mercury  by  this  time  had  fallen  to  38°  below  zero. 
We  were  surprised  and  delighted  to  find  that  we  stood  the 
cold  so  easily,  and  prided  ourselves  not  a  little  on  our  pow- 
ers of  endurance.  Our  feet  gradually  became  benumbed, 
but,  by  walking  up  the  hills,  we  prevented  the  circulation 
from  coming  to  a  stand-still. 

The  cold,  however,  played  some  grotesque  pranks  with  us 
My  beard,  moustache,  cap,  and  fur  collar  were  soon  one  un- 
divided lump  of  ice,  Our  eye-laahes  became  snow-whiU 


52  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

and  heavy  with  frost,  and  it  required  constant  motion  to 
keep  them  from  freezing  together.  We  saw  everything 
through  visors  barred  with  ivory.  Our  eyebrows  and  hail 
were  as  hoary  as  those  of  an  octogenarian,  and  our  cheeka 
a  mixture  of  crimson  and  orange,  so  that  we  were  scarcely 
recognizable  by  each  other.  Every  one  we  met  had  snow- 
white  locks,  no  matter  how  youthful  the  face,  and,  whatever 
was  the  colour  of  our  horses  at  starting,  we  always  drove 
milk-white  steeds  at  the  close  of  the  post.  The  irritation 
of  our  nostrils  occasioned  the  greatest  inconvenience,  and  as 
the  handkerchiefs  froze  instantly,  it  soon  became  a  matter 
of  pain  and  difficulty  to  use  them.  You  might  as  well  at- 
tempt to  blow  your  nose  with  a  poplar  chip.  We  could  not 
bare  our  hands  a  minute,  without  feeling  an  iron  grasp  of 
cold  which  seemed  to  squeeze  the  flesh  like  a  vice,  and  turn 
the  very  blood  to  ice.  In  other  respects  we  were  warm  and 
jolly,  and  I  have  rarely  been  in  higher  spirits.  The  air  was 
exquisitely  sweet  and  pure,  and  1  could  open  my  mouth  (as 
far  as  its  icy  grating  permitted)  and  inhale  full  draughts 
into  the  lungs  with  a  delicious  sensation  of  refreshment  and 
exhilaration.  I  had  not  expected  to  find  such  freedom  of 
respiration  in  so  low  a  temperature.  Some  descriptions  of 
severe  cold  in  Canada  and  Siberia,  which  I  have  read,  state 
that  at  such  times  the  air  occasions  a  tingling,  smarting 
sensation  in  the  throat  and  lungs,  but  I  experienced  nothing 
of  the  kind. 

This  was  arctic  travel  at  last  By  Odin,  it  was  glorious ' 
The  smooth,  firm  road,  crisp  and  pure  as  alabaster,  ovei 
which  our  sleigh-runners  talked  with  the  rippling,  musical 
murmur  of  summer  brooks ;  the  sparkling,  breathless  firma- 


PROGRESS  NORTHWARDS. — A  STORM.  53 

aient;  the  gorgeous  rosy  flush  of  morning,  slowly  deepen- 
ing until  the  orange  disc  of  the  sun  cut  the  horizon ;  the 
golden  blaze  of  the  tops  of  the  bronze  firs  ;  the  glittering  oi 
the  glassy  birches ;  the  long,  dreary  sweep  of  the  landscape; 
the  icy  nectar  of  the  perfect  air ;  the  tingling  of  the  roused 
blood  in  every  vein,  all  alert  to  guard  the  outposts  of  life 
against  the  besieging  cold — it  was  superb !  The  natives 
themselves  spoke  of  the  cold  as  being  unusually  severe,  and 
we  congratulated  ourselves  all  the  more  on  our  easy  endur- 
ance of  it.  Had  we  judged  only  by  our  own  sensations  we 
should  not  have  believed  the  temperature  to  be  nearly  so 
low. 

The  sun  rose  a  little  after  ten,  and  I  have  never  seen 
anything  finer  than  the  spectacle  which  we  then  saw  for 
the  ^rst  time,  but  which  was  afterwards  almost  daily  re- 
peated— the  illumination  of  the  forests  and  snow-fields  in 
his  level  orange  beams,  for  even  at  midday  he  was  not  more 
than  eight  degrees  above  the  horizon.  The  tops  of  the 
trees,  only,  were  touched  :  still  and  solid  as  iron,  and  cov- 
ered with  sparkling  frost-crystals,  their  trunks  were  changed 
to  blazing  gold,  and  their  foliage  to  a  fiery  orange-brown 
The  delicate  purple  sprays  of  the  birch,  coated  with  ice, 
glittered  like  wands  of  topaz  and  amethyst,  and  the  slopes 
of  virgin  snow,  stretching  towards  the  sun,  shone  with  the 
fairest  saffron  gleams.  There  is  nothing  equal  to  this  in 
the  South — nothing  so  transcendcntly  rich,  dazzling,  and 
lorious.  Italian  dawns  and  twilights  cannot  surpass  those 
we  saw  every  day,  not,  like  the  former,  fading  rapidly  into 
the  ashen  hues  of  dusk,  but  lingering  for  hour  after  hour 
with  scarce  a  decrease  of  splendour.  Strange  that  Nature 


54  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

should  repeat  these  lovely  aerial  effects  in  such  widel)  dif- 
ferent zones  and  seasons.  I  thought  to  find  in  the  winte! 
landscapes  of  the  far  North  a  sublimity  of  death  and  desola- 
tion— a  wild,  dark,  dreary,  monotony  of  expression — but  J 
had,  in  reality,  the  constant  enjoyment  of  the  rarest,  the  ten 
Merest,  the  most  enchanting  beauty. 

The  people  one  meets  along  the  road  harmonise  with  these 
unexpected  impressions.  They  are  clear  eyed  and  rosy  as 
the  morning,  straight  and  strong  as  the  fir  saplings  in  their 
forests,  and  simple,  honest,  and  unsophisticated  beyond  any 
class  of  men  I  have  ever  seen.  They  are  no  milksops  either. 
Under  the  serenity  of  those  blue  eyes  and  smooth,  fair  faces, 
burns  the  old  Berserker  rage,  not  easily  kindled,  but  terri- 
ble as  the  lightning  when  once  loosed.  "  I  would  like  to 
take  all  the  young  men  north  of  Sundsvall,"  says  Braisted, 
';  put  them  into  Kansas,  tell  them  her  history,  and  then  let 
them  act  for  themselves."  "  The  cold  in  clime  are  cold  in 
blood,"  sings  Byron,  but  they  are  only  cold  through  superior 
self-control  and  freedom  from  perverted  passions.  Better 
is  the  assertion  of  Tennyson: 

"  That  bright,  and  fierce,  and  fickle  is  the  South, 
And  dark,  and  true,  and  tender  is  the  North." 

There  are  tender  hearts  in  the  breasts  of  these  northern  men 
and  women,  albeit  they  are  as  undemonstrative  as  the  En 
glish — or  we  Americans,  for  that  matter.  It  is  exhilarating 
to  see  such  people — whose  digestion  is  sound,  whose  nervea 
are  tough  as  whipcord,  whose  blood  runs  in  a  strong  full 
stream,  whose  impulses  are  perfectly  natural,  who  are  good 


PROGRESS   NORTHWARDS. — A    STORM.  5£ 

without  knowing  it,  and  who  are  happy  without  trying  tc 
be  so.  Where  shall  we  find  such  among  our  restless  com* 
munities  at  home  ? 

We  made  two  Swedish  miles  by  noon,  and  tnen  took  a 
breakfast  of  fried  reindeer  meat  and  pancakes,  of  which  we 
ate  enormously,  t  j  keep  up  a  good  supply  of  fuel.  Braisted 
and  1  consumed  about  a  pound  of  butter  between  us.  Shriek 
not,  young  ladies,  at  our  vulgar  appetites — you  who  sip  a 
spoonful  of  ice-cream,  or  trifle  with  a  diminutive  meringue, 
in  company,  but  make  amends  on  cold  ham  and  pickles  in 
the  pantry,  after  you  go  home — I  shall  tell  the  truth,  though 
it  disgust  you.  This  intense  cold  begets  a  necessity  for  fat, 
and  with  the  necessity  comes  the  taste — a  wise  provision  of 
Nature!  The  consciousness  now  dawned  upon  me  that  I 
might  be  able  to  relish  train-oil  and  tallow-candles  before 
we  had  done  with  Lapland. 

I  had  tough  work  at  each  station  to  get  my  head  out  of 
iny  wrappings,  which  were  united  with  my  beard  and  hair 
in  one  solid  lump.  The  cold  increased  instead  of  diminish- 
ing, and  by  the  time  we  reached  Gumboda,  at  dusk,  it  waa 
40°  below  zero.  Here  we  found  a  company  of  Finns  travel- 
ling southward,  who  had  engaged  five  horses,  obliging  us  to 
wait  a  couple  of  hours.  We  had  already  made  forty  miles, 
and  were  satisfied  with  our  performance,  so  we  stopped  for 
the  night.  When  the  thermometer  was  brought  in,  the 
mercury  was  frozen,  and  on  unmuifling  I  found  the  end  of 
any  nose  seared  as  if  with  a  hot  iron.  The  inn  was  capital; 
we  had  a  warm  carpeted  room,  beds  of  clean,  lavendered 
.inen,  and  all  civilised  appliances.  In  the  evening  we  sal 
down  to  a  Christmas  dinner  of  sausages,  potatoes,  rancakes 


56  NORTHERN'   TRAVEL. 

raspberry  jam,  and  a  bottle  of  Barclay  and  Perkin's  beat 
porter,  in  which  we  drank  the  health  of  all  dear  relatives 
and  friends  in  the  two  hemispheres.  And  this  was  in  West 
Bothnia,  where  we  had  been  told  in  Stockholm  that  we 
should  starve !  At  bedtime,  Braisted  took  out  the  ther 
mometer  again,  and  soon  brought  it  in  with  the  mercury 
frozen  below  all  the  numbers  on  the  scale. 

In  the  morning,  the  landlord  came  in  and  questioned  us, 
in  order  to  satisfy  his  curiosity.  He  took  us  for  Norwe- 
gians, and  was  quite  surprised  to  find  out  our  real  character. 
We  had  also  been  taken  for  Finns,  Russians  and  Danes, 
since  leaving  Stockholm.  "I  suppose  you  intend  to  buy 
lumber  ?"  said  the  landlord.  "  No,"  said  I,  "  we  travel 
merely  for  the  pleasure  of  it."  "  Ja  so-o-o  /"  he  exclaimed, 
in  a  tone  of  the  greatest  surprise  and  incredulity.  He 
asked  if  it  was  necessary  that  we  should  travel  in  such  cold 
weather,  and  seemed  reluctant  to  let  us  go.  The  mercury 
showed  25°  below  zero  when  we  started,  but  the  sky  was 
cloudy,  with  a  raw  wind  from  the  north-west.  We  did  not 
feel  the  same  hard,  griping  cold  as  the  day  previous,  but  a 
more  penetrating  chill.  The  same  character  of  scenery 
continued,  but  with  a  more  bleak  and  barren  aspect,  and 
the  population  became  more  scanty.  The  cloudy  sky  took 
iway  what  little  green  there  was  in  the  fir-trees,  and  they 
gloomed  as  black  as  Styx  on  either  side  of  our  road.  The 
air  was  terribly  raw  and  biting  as  it  blew  across  the  hollcwg 
tnd  open  plains.  I  did  not  cover  my  face,  but  kept  up  such 
a  lively  friction  on  my  nose,  to  prevent  it  from  freezing 
that  in  the  evening  I  f  mnd  the  skin  quite  worn  away. 

At  Dagl<>sten,  the   tnird  station   we  stopped  an  Imur  foi 


PROGRF.SS    .NORTHWARDS. — A    STORM.  57 

jreakfast  It  was  a  poverty-stricken  place,  and  we  could 
only  get  some  fish-roes  and  salt  meat.  The  people  were  all 
half-idiots,  even  to  the  postilion  who  drove  us.  We  had 
Borne  daylight  for  the  fourth  station,  did  the  fifth  by  twilight, 
and  the  sixth  in  darkness.  The  cold  ( — 30°)  was  eo  keen 
that  our  postilions  made  good  time,  and  we  reached  Sunnana 
on  the  Skeleftea  River,  52  miles,  soon  after  six  o'clock. 
Here  we  were  lodged  in  a  large,  barn-like  room,  so  cold  that 
we  were  obliged  to  put  on  our  overcoats  and  sit  against  the 
stove.  1  began  to  be  troubled  with  a  pain  in  my  jaw,  from 
an  unsound  tooth — the  commencement  of  a  martyrdom  from 
which  I  suffered  for  many  days  afterwards.  The  existence 
of  nerves  in  one's  teeth  has  always  seemed  to  me  a  super- 
fluous provision  of  Nature,  and  1  should  have  been  well 
satisfied  if  she  had  omitted  them  in  my  case. 

The  handmaiden  called  us  soon  after  five  o'clock,  and 
brought  us  coffee  while  we  were  still  in  bed.  This  is  the 
general  custom  here  in  the  North,  and  is  another  point  of 
contact  with  the  South.  The  sky  was  overcast,  with  raw 
violent  wind — mercury  18°  below  zero.  We  felt  the  cold 
very  keenly;  much  more  so  than  on  Christmas  day.  The 
wind  blew  full  in  our  teeth,  and  penetrated  even  beneath 
our  furs.  On  setting  out,  we  crossed  the  Skeleftea  River 
by  a  wooden  bridge,  beyond  which  we  saw,  rising  duskily  in 
the  uncertain  twilight,  a  beautiful  dome  and  lantern,  crown- 
ing a  white  temple,  built  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross.  It 
was  the  parish  church  of  Skeleftea.  Who  could  have  ex- 
pected to  find  such  an  edifice,  here,  on  the  borders  of  Lap 
land?  The  village  about  it  contains  many  large  and  hand- 
some houses.  This  is  one  of  the  principal  points  of 
and  intercourse  between  the  c  >;is'  and  the  interior 


58  NORTHKKN    TKAVI',1,. 

The  weather  became  worse  as  we  advanced,  traversing 
the  low,  broad  hills,  through  wastes  of  dark  pine  forests 
The  wind  cut  like  a  sharp  sword  in  passing  the  hollows,  and 
the  drifting  snow  began  to  fill  the  tracks.  We  were  full 
two  hours  in  making  the  ten  miles  to  Frostkage,  and  the  day 
seemed  scarcely  nearer  at  hand.  The  leaden,  lowering  sky 
S^ave  out  no  light,  the  forests  were  black  and  cold,  the  snow 
a  dusky  grey — such  horribly  dismal  scenery  I  have  rarely 
beheld.  We  warmed  ourselves  as  well  as  we  could,  and 
started  anew,  having  for  postilions  two  rosy  boys,  who  sang 
the  whole  way  and  played  all  sorts  of  mad  antics  with  each 
other  to  keep  from  freezing.  At  the  next  station  we  drank 
large  quantities  of  hot  milk,  flavored  with  butter,  sugar  and 
cinnamon,  and  then  pushed  on,  with  another  chubby  hop-o'- 
my-thumb  as  guide  and  driver.  The  storm  grew  worse  and 
worse:  the  wind  blew  fiercely  over  the  low  hills,  loaded  with 
particles  of  snow,  as  Tine  as  the  point  of  a  needle  and  as  hard 
as  crystal,  which  struck  full  on  our  eyeballs  and  stung  them 
so  that  we  could  scarcely  see.  I  had  great  difficulty  in  keep- 
ing my  face  from  freezing,  and  my  companion  found  his 
cheek  touched. 

By  the  time  we  reached  Abyn,  it  blew  a  hurricane,  and 
we  were  compelled  to  stop.  It  was  already  dusk,  and  our 
cosy  little  room  was  doubly  pleasant  by  contrast  with  the 
wild  weather  outside.  Our  cheerful  landlady,  with  her 
fresh  complexion  and  splendid  teeth,  was  very  kind  and  at- 
tentive, and  1  got  on  very  well  in  conversation,  notwith- 
standing her  broad  dialect.  She  was  much  astonished  at 
my  asking  for  a  bucket  of  cold  \\alcr,  for  bathing.  "  Why," 
said  she,  "  1  always  thought  that  if  a  person  put  his  feel 


::SS   NORTHWARDS.  —  A   STORM. 


into  cold  water,  in  winter,  he  would  die  immediately/' 
However,  she  supplied  it,  and  was  a  little  surprised  to  find 
me  none  the  worse  in  the  morning.  1  passed  a  terrible 
night  from  the  pain  in  my  face,  and  was  little  comforted, 
on  rising,  by  the  assurance  that  much  snow  had  fallen. 
The  mercury  had  risen  to  zero,  and  the  wind  still  blew, 
although  not  so  furiously  as  on  the  previous  day.  We 
therefore  determined  to  set  out,  and  try  to  reach  Pitea. 
The  landlady's  son,  a  tall  young  Viking,  with  yellow  locks 
hanging  on  his  shoulders,  acted  as  postilion,  and  took  the 
lead.  We  started  at  nine,  and  found  it  heavy  enough  at 
first.  It  was  barely  light  enough  to  see  our  way,  and  we 
floundered  slowly  along  through  deep  drifts  for  a  mile, 
when  we  met  the  snow-plows,  after  which  our  road  became 
easier.  These  plows  are  wooden  frames,  shaped  somewhat 
like  the  bow  of  a  ship  —  in  fact,  I  have  seen  very  fair  clipper 
models  among  them  —  about  fifteen  feet  long  by  ten  feet 
wide  at  the  base,  and  so  light  that,  if  the  snow  is  not  too 
deep,  one  horse  can  manage  them.  The  farmers  along  the 
road  are  obliged  to  turn  out  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning 
whenever  the  snow  falls  or  drifts,  and  open  a  passage  for 
travellers.  Thus,  in  spite  of  the  rigorous  winter,  commu- 
nication is  never  interrupted,  and  the  snow-road,  at  last, 
from  frequent  plowing,  becomes  the  finest  sleighing  track  in 
the  world. 

The  wind  blew  so  violently,  however,  that  the  furrows 
were  soon  filled  up,  and  even  the  track  of  the  baggage-sled 
fifty  yards  in  advance,  was  covered.  There  was  one  hollow 
where  the  drifts  of  loose  snow  were  five  or  six  feet  deep,  and 
here  we  were  obliged  to  get  out  and  struggle  across,  sinking 


60  NORTHERN   TRAVEL 

to  our  loins  at  every  step.  It  is  astonishing  how  soon  ont 
becomes  hardened  to  the  cold.  Although  the  mercury  stood 
at  zero,  with  a  violent  storm,  we  rode  with  our  faces  fullj 
exposed,  frost-bites  and  all,  and  even  drove  with  bare  hands, 
w.thout  the  least  discomfort.  But  of  the  scenery  we  saw 
this  day,  i  can  give  no  description.  There  was  nothing  but 
long  drifts  and  waves  of  spotless  snow,  some  dim,  dark, 
spectral  fir-trees  on  either  hand,  and  beyond  that  a  wild 
chaos  of  storm.  The  snow  came  fast  and  blinding,  beating 
full  in  our  teeth.  It  was  impossible  to  see  ;  the  fine  parti- 
cles so  stung  our  eyeballs,  that  we  could  not  look  ahead. 
My  eyelashes  were  loaded  with  snow,  which  immediately 
turned  to  ice  and  froze  the  lids  together,  unless  1  kept  them 
in  constant  motion.  The  storm  hummed  and  buzzed  through 
the  black  forests ;  we  were  all  alone  on  the  road,  for  even 
the  pious  Swedes  would  not  turn  out  to  church  on  such  a 
day.  It  was  terribly  sublime  and  desolate,  and  I  enjoyed  it 
amazingly.  We  kept  warm,  although  there  was  a  crust  of 
ice  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  on  our  cheeks,  and  the  ice  in 
our  beards  prevented  us  from  opening  our  mouths.  At  one 
o'clock,  we  reached  the  second  station,  Gefre,  unrecognisable 
by  our  nearest  friends.  Our  eyelashes  were  weighed  down 
with  heavy  fringes  of  frozen  snow,  there  were  icicles  an  inch 
long  hanging  to  the  eaves  of  our  moustaches,  and  the  hand- 
kerchiefs which  wrapped  our  faces  were  frozen  fast  to  the 
flesh.  The  skin  was  rather  improved  by  this  treatment,  but 
it  took  us  a  great  while  to  thaw  out. 

At  Gefre,  we  got  some  salt  meat  and  hot  milk,  and  then 
started  on  our  long  stage  of  fifteen  miles  to  Pitea.  The 
wind  had  moderated  somewhat,  but  the  snow  still  fell  fast 


and  thick.  We  were  again  blinded  and  frozen  up  more 
firmly  than  ever,  cheeks  and  all,  so  that  our  eyes  and  lips 
were  the  only  features  to  be  seen.  After  plunging  along 
*br  more  than  two  hours  through  dreary  woods,  we  came 
ipon  the  estuary  of  the  Pitea  River,  where  our  course  waa 
marked  out  by  young  fir-trees,  planted  in  the  ice.  The 
world  became  a  blank;  there  was  snow  around,  above  and 
below,  and  but  foi  these  marks  a  man  might  have  driven  at 
random  until  he  froze.  For  three  miles  or  more,  we  rode 
over  the  solid  gulf,  and  then  took  the  woods  on  the  opposite 
shore.  The  way  seemed  almost  endless.  Our  feet  grew 
painfully  cold,  our  eyes  smarted  from  the  beating  of  the  fine 
snow,  and  my  swollen  jaw  tortured  me  incessantly.  Finally 
lights  appeared  ahead  through  the  darkness,  but  another 
half  hour  elapsed  before  we  saw  houses  on  both  sides  of  us. 
There  was  a  street,  at  List,  then  a  large  mansion,  and  tc 
our  great  py  the"  ikjutsbonde  turned  into  the  court-yard  of 
an  inn. 
4 


NORTHERS    TRAVEL 


CHAPTER  VI 

JOURNEY  FROM  P1TEA  TO  HAPARANDA. 

MY  jaw  was  so  painful  on  reaching  Pi  tea,  that  I  tossed 
about  in  torment  the  whole  night,  utterly  unable  to  sleep. 
The  long  northern  night  seemed  as  if  it  would  never  coine 
to  an  end,  and  I  arose  in  the  morning  much  more  fatigued 
and  exhausted  than  when  I  lay  down.  It  was  6°  below 
zero,  and  the  storm  still  blowing,  but  the  cold  seemed  to 
relieve  my  face  a  little,  and  so  we  set  out.  The  roads  were 
heavy,  but  a  little  broken,  and  still  led  over  hills  and 
through  interminable  forests  of  mingled  fir  and  pine,  in 
the  dark,  imperfect  day.  I  took  but  little  note  of  the 
scenery,  but  was  so  drowsy  and  overcome,  that  Braisted  al 
last  filled  the  long  baggage-sled  with  hay,  and  sat  at  the 
rear,  so  that  I  could  lie  stretched  out,  with  my  head  upon 
his  lap.  Here,  in  spite  of  the  cold  and  wind,  I  lay  in  a 
warm,  stupid  half-sleep. 

It  was  dark  when  we  reached  Ersnfis,  whence  we  ha<! 
twelve  miles  to  Old  Lulea,  with  tired  horses,  heavy  roads, 
and  a  lazy  driver.  I  lay  down  again,  dosed  AS  usual,  and 
tried  to  forget  my  torments.  So  passed  three  hours;  the 
night  had  long  set  in,  with  a  clear  sky,  13°  below  zero,  and 


JIM  RNKY    FROM    P1TKA   TO    H.M'AK AXDA.  63 

it  sharp  wind  blowing.  All  at  once  an  exclamation  from 
Unlisted  aroused  me.  I  opened  my  eyes,  as  I  lay  in  his  lap, 
looked  upward,  and  saw  a  narrow  belt  or  scarf  of  silver  fire 
Stretching  directly  across  the  zenith,  with  its  loose,  frayed 
2nds  slowly  swaying  to  and  fro  down  the  slopes  of  the  sky 
Presently  it  began  to  waver,  bending  back  and  forth, 
sometimes  slowly,  sometimes  with  a  quick,  springing  motion, 
as  if  testing  its  elasticity.  Now  it  took  the  shape  of  a  bow 
now  undulated  into  Hogarth's  line  of  beauty,  brightening 
and  fading  in  its  sinuous  motion,  and  finally  formed  a 
shepherd's  crook,  the  end  of  which  suddenly  began  to 
separate  and  fall  off,  as  if  driven  by  a  strong  wind,  until 
the  whole  belt  shot  away  in  long,  drifting  lines  of  fierj 
snow.  It  then  gathered  again  into  a  dozen  dancing  frag- 
ments, which  alternately  advanced  and  retreated,  shot 
hither  and  thither,  against  and  across  each  other,  blazed  out 
in  yellow  and  rosy  gleams  or  paled  again,  playing  a  thons 
and  fantastic  pranks,  as  if  guided  by  some  wild  whim. 

We  lay  silent,  with  upturned  faces,  watching  this  won- 
derful spectacle.  Suddenly,  the  scattered  lights  ran  together, 
as  by  a  common  impulse,  joined  their  bright  ends,  twisted 
them  through  each  other,  and  fell  in  a  broad,  luminous 
f.urtain  straight  downward  through  the  air  until  its  fringed 
hem  swung  apparently  but  a  few  yards  over  our  heads. 
This  phenomenon  was  so  unexpected  and  startling,  that  for 
a  moment  1  thought  our  faces  would  be  touched  by  the 
skirts  of  the  glorious  auroral  drapery.  It  did  not  follow 
the  spheric  curve  of  the  firmament,  but  hung  plumb  from 
the  zenith,  falling,  apparently,  millions  of  leagues  through 
the  air,  its  folds  gathered  together  among  the  stars  and  iti 


6-1  NORTHERN   TRAV1L. 

embroideiy  uf  flaine  sweeping  the  eartli  and  shedding  a  pale 
unearthly  radiance  over  the  wastes  of  sncw.  A  moment 
afterwards  and  it  was  again  drawn  up,  parted,  waved  ita 
flambeaux  and  shot  its  lances  hither  and  thither,  advancing 
B-nd  retreating  as  before.  Anything  so  strange,  so  capricious 
BO  wonderful,  so  gloriously  beautiful,  I  scarcely  hope  to  see 
again. 

By  this  time  we  came  upon  the  broad  Lulea  River,  and 
were  half  an  hour  traversing  its  frozen  surface,  still  watch- 
ing the  snow  above  us,  which  gradually  became  fainter  and 
less  active  Finally  we  reached  the  opposite  shore,  drove 
up  a  long  slope,  through  a  large  village  of  stables,  and  past 
the  imposing  church  of  Old  Lulea  to  the  inn.  It  was  nov> 
nearly  eight  o'clock,  very  cold,  and  I  was  thoroughly 
exhausted.  But  the  inn  was  already  full  of  travellers,  and 
there  was  no  place  to  lay  our  heads.  The  landlord,  a 
sublimely  indifferent  Swede,  coolly  advised  us  to  go  on  to 
Perso.  ten  miles  distant.  I  told  him  I  had  not  slept  fur  twc 
nights,  but  he  merely  shrugged  his  shoulders,  repeated  his 
advice,  and  offered  to  furnish  horses  at  once,  .to  get  us  off. 
It  was  a  long.  cold,  dreary  ride,  and  I  was  in  a  state  of 
semi-consciousness  the  whole  time.  We  reached  Perso  about 
eleven,  found  the  house  full  of  travellers,  but  procured  two 
small  beds  in  a  small  ruom  with  another  man  in  it.  and 
went  to  sleep  without  supper.  I  was  so  thoroughly  woru 
out  that  I  got  about  three  hours'  rest,  in  spite  of  my  pain. 

We  took  coffee  in  bed  at  seven,  and  started  for  Ranbyu 
on  the  Ranea  River.  The  day  was  lowering,  temperature 
8£°  below  zero.  The  country  was  low,  slightly  undulating 
with  occasional  wide  views  to  the  north,  over  the  inlets  oi 
the  gulf,  and  vast  wide  trac".-*  <>f  forest.  The  settlement* 


JOURNEY   FROM   PITEA   TO   HAPARANDA.  fifi 

were  still  as  frequent  as  ever,  but  there  was  little  apparent 
cultivation,  except  flax.  Ranbyn  is  a  large  village,  with  a 
stately  church.  The  people  were  putting  up  booths  for  a 
fair  (a  fair  in  the  open  air,  in  lat.  65°  N.,  with  the  mercury 
freezing !),  which  explained  the  increased  travel  on  the  road 
We  kept  on  to  Hvita  for  breakfast,  thus  getting  north  of 
the  latitude  of  Tornea ;  thence  our  road  turned  eastward  at 
right  angles  around  the  head  of  the  Bothnian  Gulf.  Much 
snow  had  fallen,  but  the  road  had  been  ploughed,  and  we 
had  a  tolerable  track,  except  when  passing  sleds,  which 
sometimes  gave  us  an  overturn. 

We  now  had  uninterrupted  forest  scenery  between  the 
stations — and  such  scenery  !  It  is  almost  impossible  to 
paint  the  glory  of  those  winter  forests.  Every  tree,  laden 
with  the  purest  snow,  resembles  a  Gothic  fountain  of  bronze, 
covered  with  frozen  spray,  through  which  only  suggestive 
glimpses  of  its  delicate  tracery  can  be  obtained.  From 
every  rise  we  looked  over  thousands  of  such  mimic  fountains, 
shooting,  low  or  high,  from  their  pavements  of  ivory  and 
alabaster.  It  was  an  enchanted  wilderness — white,  silent, 
gleaming,  and  tilled  with  inexhaustible  forms  of  beauty. 
To  what  shall  I  liken  those  glimpses  under  the  boughs,  into 
the  depths  of  the  forest,  where  the  snow  destroyed  all 
perspective,  and  brought  the  remotest  fairy  nooks  and 
coverts,  too  lovely  and  fragile  to  seem  cold,  into  the  glitter- 
ing foreground  ?  "  Wonderful !"  "  glorious  !"  I  could  only 
exclaim,  in  breathless  admiration.  Once,  by  the  roadside, 
we  saw  an  Arctic  ptarmigan,  as  white  as  the  snow,  with 
ruby  eyes  that  sparkled  like  jewels  as  he  moved  slowly  and 
silently  along,  not  frightened  in  the  least. 


66  NORTHERN   TUAVKT. 

The  sun  set  a  little  after  one  o'clock  and  we  poshed  ou 
to  reach  the  Ka*ix  River  the  same  evening  At  the  las! 
station  we  got  a  boy  postilion  and  two  lazy  horses,  and  were 
three  hours  and  a  half  on  the  road,  with  a  temperature  ol 
20°  below  zero.  My  feet  became  like  ice,  which  increased 
the  pain  in  my  face,  and  I  began  to  feel  faint  and  sick  with 
BO  much  suffering  and  loss  of  rest.  The  boy  aggravated  us 
so  much  by  his  laziness,  that  Braisted  ran  ahead  and  cuffed 
his  ears,  after  which  he  made  better  speed.  After  a  drive 
through  interminable  woods,  we  came  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Kalix,  which  were  steep  and  fringed  with  splendid  firs. 
Then  came  the  village  of  Mansbyn,  where,  thank  Heaven> 
we  got  something  to  eat,  a  warm  room,  and  a  bed. 

WhiL  <re  were  at  supper,  two  travellers  arrived,  one  of 
whom,  a  well-made,  richly-dressed  young  fellow,  was  ushered 
into  our  room.  He  was  a  bruk-patron  (iron-master),  so  the 
servant  informed  us,  and  from  his  superfine  broad  cloth, 
rings,  and  the  immense  anchor-chain  which  attached  him 
to  his  watch,  appeared  to  be  doing  a  thriving  business.  He 
had  the  Norse  bloom  on  his  face,  a  dignified  nose,  and 
English  whiskers  flanking  his  smoothly -shaven  chin.  His 
air  was  flushed  and  happy ;  he  was  not  exactly  drunk,  bat 
comfortably  within  that  gay  and  cheerful  vestibule  beyond 
which  lies  the  chamber  of  horrors.  He  listened  to  our  con- 
versation for  some  time,  and  finally  addressed  me  in  imper- 
fect English.  This  led  to  mutual  communications,  and  a 
declaration  of  our  character,  and  object  in  travel — nothing 
of  which  would  he  believe.  "  Nobody  can  possibly  come 
here  for  pleasure,"  said  he;  "I  know  better;  you  have  a 
secret  political  mission."  Our  amusement  at  this  oiily 


JOURNEY   FROM   PITEA  TO   HAPARANDA.  67 

strengthened  him  in  his  suspicions.  Nevertheless  he  called 
for  a  bottle  of  port  wine,  which,  when  it  came,  turned  ou* 
to  be  bad  Malaga,  and  insisted  on  drinking  a  welcome 
"  You  are  in  latitude  66°  north,"  said  he ;  "  on  the  Kalix, 
where  no  American  has  ever  been  before,  and  I  shall  call  my 
friend  to  give  a  skal  to  your  country.  We  have  been  tc 
the  church,  where  my  friend  is  stationed." 

With  that  he  went  out,  and  soon  returned  with  a  short 
stout,  broad-faced,  large-headed  man  of  forty  or  thereabouts 
His  manner  was  perfectly  well-bred  and  self-possessed,  and 
I  took  him  to  be  a  clergyman,  especially  as  the  iron-master 
addressed  him  as  "Brother  Horton."  "Now,"  said  he, 
"welcome  to  66°  north,  and  prosperity  to  free  America! 
Are  you  for  Buchanan  or  Fremont  ?"  Brother  Horton 
kept  a  watchful  eye  upon  his  young  friend,  but  cheerfully 
joined  in  the  sentiment.  I  gave  in  return:  "Skal  to 
Sweden  and  the  Swedish  people,"  and  hoped  to  get  rid  of 
our  jolly  acquaintance;  but  he  was  not  to  be  shaken  off. 
"  You  don't  know  me,"  he  said  ;  "  and  I  don't  know  you — 
but  you  are  something  more  than  you  seem  to  be;  you  are 
a  political  character.''  Just  then  Braisted  came  in  with  the 
thermometer,  and  announced  24°  of  cold  (Reaumur). 
"  Thousand  devils !"  exclaimed  Brother  Horton  (and  now  1 
was  convinced  that  he  was  not  a  clergyman),  "  what  a  ther- 
mometer !  How  cold  it  makes  the  weather !  Would  you 
part  with  it  if  I  were  to  give  you  money  in  return  ?"  I 
declined,  stating  that  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  procure  30 
cold  a  thermometer  in  the  north,  and  we  wanted  to  have  aa 
tow  a  temperature  as  could  be  obtained. 

This  seemed  to  puzzle  the  iron-master,  who  studied  awhile 


6S  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

upon  it,  and  then  returned  to  the  subject  of  my  politica 
mission.  "I  suppose  you  speak  French,"  said  he;  "it  is 
necessary  in  diplomacy.  I  can  speak  it  also" — which  he 
began  to  do,  in  a  bungling  way.  1  answered  in  the  same 
language,  but  he  soon  gave  up  the  attempt  and  tried 
German.  I  changed  also,  and,  finding  that  he  had  ex- 
hausted his  philology,  of  which  he  was  rather  proud,  espe- 
cially as  Brother  Horton  knew  nothing  but  Swedish,  deter- 
mined to  have  a  little  fun.  "  Of  course  you  know  Italian/1 
said  I ;  "it  is  more  musical  than  German,"  and  forthwith 
addressed  him  in  that  language.  He  reluctantly  confessed 
his  ignorance.  "  Oh,  well,"  I  continued,  "  Spanish  is  equally 
agreeable  to  me ;"  and  took  up  that  tongue  before  he  could 
reply.  His  face  grew  more  and  more  blank  and  bewildered. 
"The  Oriental  languages  are  doubtless  familiar  to  yuu  ;''  1 
persisted,  "  I  have  had  no  practice  in  Arabic  for  some  time," 
and  overwhelmed  him  with  Egyptian  salutations.  I  then 
tried  him  with  Hindustanee,  which  exhausted  my  stock,  but 
concluded  by  giving  him  the  choice  of  Malay,  Tartar,  or 
Thibetan.  "  Come,  come/  said  Brother  Horton,  taking  his 
arm  as  he  stood  staring  and  perplexed — "the  horses  are 
ready/'  With  some  difficulty  he  was  persuaded  to  leave, 
after  shaking  hands  with  us,  and  exclaiming,  many  times, 
"  You  are  a  very  seldom  man  !" 

When  \v  awoke,  the  temperature  had  risen  to  2°  above 
zero,  with  a  tremendous  snow-storm  blowing.  As  we  were 
preparing  to  set  out,  a  covered  sled  drove  in  from  the  nirth, 
with  two  Swedish  naval  officers,  whose  vessel  had  been  frozen 
in  at  Cronstadt,  and  who  had  been  obliged  to  return  home 
through  Finland,  up  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Bothnian  fJulf. 


JOURNKV    FROM   PITEA   TO   HAPARANDA.  ffy 

The  captain,  who  spoke  excellent  English,  informed  me 
that  they  were  in  about  the  same  latitude  as  we,  on  Christ- 
mas day,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  gulf,  and  had  experienced 
the  same  degree  of  cold.  Both  of  them  had  their  nosea 
severely  frozen.  We  were  two  hours  and  a  half  in  travel- 
ling to  the  first  station,  seven  miles,  as  the  snow  was  falling 
in  blinding  quantities,  and  the  road  was  not  yet  ploughed 
out.  All  the  pedestrians  we  met  were  on  runners,  but  even 
with  their  snow  skates,  five  feet  long,  they  sank  deep  enough 
to  make  their  progress  very  slow  and  toilsome. 

By  the  time  we  reached  Niisby  my  face  was  very  much 
swollen  and  inflamed,  and  as  it  was  impossible  to  make  the 
next  stage  by  daylight,  we  wisely  determined  to  stop  there. 
The  wind  blew  a  hurricane,  the  hard  snow-crystals  lashed 
the  windows  and  made  a  gray  chaos  of  all  out-of-doors,  but 
we  had  a  warm,  cosy,  carpeted  room  within,  a  capital  din- 
ner in  the  afternoon,  and  a  bottle  of  genuine  London  porter 
with  our  evening  pipe.  So  we  passed  the  last  day  of  A.  D. 
1856,  grateful  to  God  for  all  the  blessings  which  the  year 
had  brought  us,  and  for  the  comfort  and  shelter  we  enjoyed, 
in  that  Polar  wilderness  of  storm  and  snow. 

On  New  Year's  morning  it  blew  less,  and  the  temperature 
was  comparatively  mild,  so,  although  the  road  was  very 
heavy,  we  started  again.  Nasby  is  the  last  Swedish  station, 
the  Finnish  frontier,  which  is  an  abrupt  separation  of  race* 
and  tongues,  being  at  the  north-western  corner  of  the  Both- 
uian  Gulf.  In  spite  of  the  constant  intercourse  which  now 
exists  between  Norrland  and  the  narrow  strip  of  Finnish 
Boil  which  remains  to  Sweden,  there  has  been  no  perceptible 
assimilation  of  the  two  races.  At  Nasby,  all  is  pure  Swe- 


"O  NORTHERN-    TRAVKL 

dish ;  at  Sangis.  twelve  miles  distant,  everything  is  Finnish 
The  blue  eyes  and  fair  hair,  the  lengthened  oval  of  the  face, 
and  slim,  straight  form  disappear.  You  see,  instead,  square 
faces,  dark  eyes,  low  foreheads,  and  something  cf  an  Orien- 
tal fire  and  warmth  in  the  movements.  The  language  is 
totally  dissimilar,  and  even  the  costume,  though  of  the  same 
general  fashion,  presents  many  noticeable  points  of  differ- 
ence. The  women  wear  handkerchiefs  of  some  bright  color 
bound  over  the  forehead  and  under  the  chin,  very  similar  to 
those  worn  by  the  Armenian  women  in  Asia  Minor.  On 
first  coming  among  them,  the  Finns  impressed  me  as  a  less 
frank  and  open  hearted,  but  more  original  and  picturesque, 
race  than  the  Swedes.  It  is  exceedingly  curious  and  inter- 
esting to  find  such  a  flavour  of  the  Orient  on  the  borders  of 
the  Frigid  Zone. 

The  roads  were  very  bad,  and  our  drivers  and  horses 
provokingly  slow,  but  we  determined  to  push  on  to  Hapa- 
randa  the  same  night.  1  needed  rest  and  medical  aid,  my 
jaw  by  this  time  being  so  swollen  that  I  had  great  didiculty 
in  eating — a  state  of  things  which  threatened  to  diminish 
my  supply  of  fuel,  and  render  me  sensitive  to  the  cold.  We 
reached  Nickala,  the  last  station,  at  seven  o'clock.  Beyond 
this,  the  road  was  frightfully  deep  in  places.  We  could 
scarcely  make  any  headway,  and  were  frequently  overturned 
headlong  into  the  drifts.  The  driver  was  a  Finn,  who  did 
not  understand  a  word  of  Swedish,  and  all  our  urging  was 
of  no  avail.  We  went  on  and  on,  in  the  moonlight,  ovoi 
arms  of  the  gulf,  through  forests,  and  then  over  ice  again — 
a  flat,  monotonous  country,  with  the  same  dull  features  re- 
peated again  and  again.  At  half-past  nine,  a  large  white 


JOURNEY   PROM   PITEA   TO   HAPARANDA.  71 

church  announced  our  approach  to  Haparanda,  and  SOOE 
afterwards  we  drove  up  to  the  inn,  which  was  full  of  New 
Y"ear  carousers.  The  landlord  gave  us  quarters  in  the 
same  room  with  an  old  Norrlander,  who  was  very  drunk 
and  annoyed  us  not  a  little  until  we  got  into  bed  and  pre- 
tended to  sleep.  It  was  pretence  nearly  the  whole  night,  on 
my  part,  for  my  torture  was  still  kept  up.  The  next  morn- 
ing I  called  upon  Dr.  Wretholm,  the  physician  of  the 
place, — not  without  some  misgivings, — but  his  prescription 
of  a  poultice  of  mallow  leaves,  a  sudorific  and  an  opiate, 
restored  my  confidence,  and  I  cheerfully  resigned  myself 
to  a  rest  of  two  or  three  days,  before  proceeding  lurther 
northward. 


72  NORTHERN"    TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

CROSSING     THE     ARCTIC     CIRCLE. 

I  was  obliged  to  remain  three  days  in  Haparaiida.  applying 
poultices,  gargles,  and  liniments,  according  to  the  doctor's 
instructions.  As  my  Swedish  was  scarcely  sufficient  for  the 
comprehension  of  prescriptions,  or  medical  technicalities  in 
general,  a  written  programme  of  my  treatment  was  furnished 
to  Fredrika,  the  servant-maid,  who  was  properly  impressed 
with  the  responsibility  thereby  devolving  upon  her.  Fred- 
rika, no  doubt,  thought  that  my  life  was  in  her  hands,  and 
nothing  could  exceed  the  energy  with  which  she  undertook 
its  preservation.  Punctually  to  the  minute  appeared  the 
prescribed  application,  and,  if  she  perceived  or  suspected  any 
dereliction  on  my  part,  it  was  sure  to  be  reported  to  the 
doctor  at  his  next  visit.  I  had  the  taste  of  camomile  and 
mallows  in  my  mouth  from  morning  till  night ;  the  skin  o 
my  jaw  blistered  under  the  scorching  of  ammonia ;  but  the 
final  result  was,  that  I  was  cured,  as  the  doctor  and  Fredrika 
had  determined. 

Thi-s  good-hearted  girl  was  a  genuine  specimen  of  the 
Northern  Swedish  female.     Of  medium  ^height,  plump,  bul 


CROSSING    THE    ARCTIC    CIKCI.i:.  78 

not  stout,  with  a  rather  slender  waist  and  expansive  hips, 
and  a  foot  which  stepped  firmly  and  nimbly  at  the  same 
time,  she  was  as  cheerful  a  body  as  one  could  wish  to  see. 
Her  hair  was  of  that  silky  blonde  so  common  in  Sweden 
her  eyes  a  clear,  pale  blue,  her  nose  straight  and  well 
formed,  her  cheeks  of  the  delicate  pink  of  a  wild-rose  leaf 
and  her  teeth  so  white,  regular  and  perfect  that  I  am  sure 
they  would  make  her  fortune  in  America.  Always  cheerful- 
kind  and  active,  she  had,  nevertheless,  a  hard  life  of  it;  she 
was  alike  cook,  chambermaid,  and  hostler,  and  had  a  cross 
mistress  to  boot.  She  made  our  fires  in  the  morning  dark- 
ness, and  brought  us  our  early  coffee  while  we  yet  lay  in  bed, 
in  accordance  with  the  luxurious  habits  of  the  Arctic  zone. 
Then,  until  the  last  drunken  guest  was  silent,  towards  mid- 
night, there  was  no  respite  from  labour.  Although  suffering 
from  a  distressing  ccugh,  she  had  the  out-door  as  well  as  the 
in-door  duties  to  discharge,  and  we  saw  her  in  a  sheepskin 
jacket  harnessing  horses,  in  a  temperature  30°  below  zero. 
The  reward  of  such  a  service  was  possibly  about  eight 
American  dollars  a  year.  When,  on  leaving,  I  gave  her 
about  as  much  as  one  of  our  hotel  servants  would  expect  for 
answering  a  question,  the  poor  girl  was  overwhelmed  with 
gratitude,  and  even  the  stern  landlady  was  so  impressed  by 
my  generosity  that  she  insisted  on  lending  us  a  sheepskin 
or  our  feet,  saying  we  were  "  good  men." 

There  is  something  exceedingly  primitive  and  unsophisti- 
cated in  the  manners  of  these  Northern  people — a  straight- 
forward honesty,  which  takes  the  honesty  of  others  for 
granted — a  latent  kindness  and  good-will  which  may  at  first 
bo  overlooked,  because  it  is  not  demonstrative,  and  a  total 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 


unconsciousness  of  what  is  called,  in  highly  civilized  circles, 
"  propriety."  The  very  freedom  of  manners  which,  in  some 
countries,  might  denote  laxity  of  morals,  is  here  the  evident 
stamp  of  their  purity.  The  thought  has  often  recurred  to 
me  —  which  is  the  most  truly  pure  and  virginal  nature,  thr 
fastidious  American  girl,  who  blushes  at  the  sight  of  a  pair 
jf  boots  outside  a  gentleman's  bedroom  door,  and  whc 
requires  that  certain  unoffending  parts  of  the  body  and 
articles  of  clothing  should  be  designated  by  delicately  cir- 
sumlocutious  terms,  or  the  simple-minded  Swedish  women, 
who  come  into  our  bedrooms  with  coffee,  and  make  our  firee 
while  we  get  up  and  dress,  coming  and  going  during  all  the 
various  stages  of  the  toilet,  with  the  frankest  unconscious- 
ness of  impropriety  ?  This  is  modesty  in  its  healthy  and 
natural  development,  not  in  those  morbid  forms  which 
suggest  an  imagination  ever  on  the  alert  for  prurient  images. 
Nothing  has  confirmed  my  impression  of  the  virtue  of  the 
Northern  Swedes  more  than  this  fact,  and  I  have  rarely  felt 
more  respect  for  woman  or  more  faith  in  the  inherent  purity 
of  her  nature. 

We  had  snug  quarters  in  Haparanda,  and  our  detention 
was  therefore  by  no  means  irksome.  A  large  room,  carpeted, 
protected  from  the  outer  cold  by  double  windows,  and  heated 
by  an  immense  Russian  stove,  was  allotted  to  us.  We  had 
two  beds,  one  of  which  became  a  broad  sofa  during  the  day, 
a  backgammon  table,  the  ordinary  appliances  for  washing, 
and.  besides  a  number  of  engravings  on  the  walls,  our  win- 
dow commanded  a  full  view  of  Tornea,  and  the  ice-track 
across  the  river,  where  hundreds  of  persons  daily  passed  tc 
and  fro.  The  eastern  window  showed  us  the  Arctic  dawn, 


CROSSING  THE   ARCTIC   CIRCLE.  7f, 

growing  and  brightening  through  its  wonderful  gradationb 
of  color,  for  four  hours,  when  the  pale  orange  sun  appeared 
above  the  distant  houses,  to  slide  along  their  roofs  for  two 
hours,  and  then  dip  again.  We  had  plentiful  meals,  con- 
sisting mostly  of  reindeer  meat,  with  a  sauce  of  Swedish 
cranberries,  potatoes,  which  had  been  frozen,  but  were  stil] 
palatable,  salmon  roes,  soft  bread  in  addition  to  the  black 
shingles  of  fladbrdd,  English  porter,  and  excellent  Umea 
beer.  In  fact,  in  no  country  inn  of  the  United  States  could 
we  have  been  more  comfortable.  For  the  best  which  th< 
place  afforded,  during  four  days,  with  a  small  provision  for 
the  journey,  we  paid  about  seven  dollars. 

The  day  before  our  departure,  I  endeavored  to  obtain 
some  information  concerning  the  road  to  Lapland,  but  was 
disappointed.  The  landlord  ascertained  that  there  were 
skjtits,  or  relays  of  post-horses,  as  far  as  Muonioniski,  210 
English  miles,  but  beyond  this  I  could  only  learn  that  the 
people  were  all  Finnish,  spoke  no  Swedish,  were  miserably 
poor,  and  could  give  us  nothing  to  eat.  1  was  told  that  a 
certain  official  personage  at  the  apothecary's  shop  spoke 
German,  and  hastened  thither;  but  the  official,  a  dark-eyed, 
olive-faced  Finn,  could  not  understand  my  first  question. 
The  people  even  seemed  entirely  ignorant  of  the  geography 
of  the  country  beyond  Upper  Tornea,  or  Matarengi,  forty 
miles  off.  The  doctor's  wife,  a  buxom,  motherly  lady,  who 
seemed  to  feel  quite  an  interest  in  our  undertaking,  and  was 
as  kind  and  obliging  as  such  women  always  are,  procured 
for  us  a  supply  of  fladbrod  made  of  rye,  and  delightfully 
crisp  and  hard — and  this  was  the  substance  of  our  prepara- 
tions. Reindeer  mittens  were  not  to  be  found,  nor  a  rein- 


NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 


deer  skin  to  cover  our  feet,  so  we  relied,  as  before,  on  plentj 
of  hay  and  my  Scotch  plaid.  We  might,  perhaps,  have  had 
better  success  in  Tornea,  but  I  knew  no  one  there  who 
urould  be  likely  to  assist  us,  and  we  did  not  even  visit  the 
old  place.  We  had  taken  the  precaution  of  getting  the 
Russian  vise,  together  with  a  small  stock  of  roubles,  at 
Stockholm,  but  found  that  it  was  quite  unnecessary.  No 
passport  is  required  for  entering  Tornea,  or  travelling  or 
the  Russian  side  of  the  frontier. 

Trusting  to  luck,  which  is  about  the  best  plan  after  all, 
we  started  from  Haparanda  at  noon,  on  the  5th  of  January. 
The  day  was  magnificent,  the  sky  cloudless,  and  resplendent 
as  polished  steel,  and  the  mercury  31°  below  zero.  Th» 
sun,  scarcely  more  than  the  breadth  of  his  disc  above  the 
horizon,  shed  a  faint  orange  light  over  the  broad,  level 
snow-plains,  and  the  bluish-  white  hemisphere  of  the  Both- 
nian  Gulf,  visible  beyond  Tornea.  The  air  was  perfectly 
still,  and  exquisitely  cold  and  bracing,  despite  the  sharp 
grip  it  took  upon  my  nose  and  ears.  These  Arctic  days, 
short  as  they  are,  have  a  majesty  of  their  own  —  a  splendor, 
subdued  though  it  be;  a  breadth  and  permanence  of  hue, 
imparted  alike  to  the  sky  and  to  the  snowy  earth,  as  if 
tinted  glass  was  held  before  your  eyes.  I  find  myself  at  a 
loss  how  to  describe  these  effects,  or  the  impression  they 
produce  upon  the  traveller^  mood.  Certainly,  it  is  the 
very  reverse  of  that  depression  which  accompanies  the  Polar 
night,  and  which  even  the  absence  of  any  real  daylight 
might  be  considered  sufficient  to  produce. 

Our  road  was  well  beaten,  but  narrow,  and  we  had  great 
difficulty  in  passing  the  many  hay  and  wood  teams  which 


i  i;ossix<;    rm:  ARCTIC  URCLR  77 

met  us,  on  account  of  the  depth  of  ihe  loose  snow  on  either 
side.  We  had  several  violent  overturns  at  such  times,  one 
of  which  occasioned  us  the  loss  of  our  beloved  pipe — a 
lose  which  rendered  Braisted  disconsolate  for  the  rest  of  the 
day.  We  had  but  one  between  us,  and  the  bereavement 
was  not  slight.  Soon  after  leaving  Haparanda,  we  passed  a 
small  white  obelisk,  with  the  words  "  Russian  Frontier5' 
upon  it.  The  town  of  Tornea,  across  the  frozen  river, 
looked  really  imposing,  with  the  sharp  roof  and  tall  spire  of 
its  old  church  rising  above  the  line  of  low  red  buildings. 
Campbell,  I  remember,  says, 

"  Cold  as  the  rocks  on  Torneo's  hoary  brow," 

with  the  same  disregard  of  geography  which  makes  him 
grow  palm  trees  along  the  Susquehanna  River.  There  was 
Tornea ;  but  1  looked  in  vain  for  the  "  hoary  brow."  Not 
a  hill  within  sight,  nor  a  rock  within  a  circuit  of  ten  miles, 
but  one  unvarying  level,  like  the  western  shore  of  the 
Adriatic,  formed  by  the  deposits  of  the  rivers  and  the 
retrocession  of  the  sea. 

Our  road  led  up  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  both  sides  of 
which  were  studded  with  neat  little  villages.  The  country 
was  well  cleared  and  cultivated,  and  appeared  so  populous 
and  flourishing  that  I  could  scarcely  realise  in  what  part  of 
the  world  we  were.  The  sun  set  at  a  quarter  past  one,  but 
for  two  hours  the  whole  southern  heaven  was  superb  in  its 
hues  of  rose  and  orange.  The  sheep  skin  lent  us  by  our 
landlady  kept  our  feet  warm,  and  we  only  felt  the  cold  in 
out  faces ;  my  nose,  especially,  which,  having  lost  a  coat  of 
skin,  was  very  fresh  and  tender,  requiring  unusual  car* 


T8  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

At  three  o'clock,  when  we  reached  Kuckula,  the  first  station 
the  northern  sky  was  one  broad  flush  of  the  purest  violet 
melting  into  lilac  at  the  zenith,  where  it  met  the  fiery  skirts 
of  sunset. 

We  refreshed  ourselves  with  hot  milk,  and  pushed  ahead 
with  better  horses.  At  four  o'clock  it  was  bright  moonlight 
with  the  stillest  air.  We  got  on  bravely  over  the  level 
beaten  road,  and  in  two  hours  reached  Korpikylft.  a  larg 
new  inn,  where  we  found  very  tolerable  accommodations. 
Our  beds  were  heaps  of  reindeer  skins ;  a  frightfully  ugly  Fin- 
nish girl,  who  knew  a  few  words  of  Swedish,  prepared  us  a 
supper  of  tough  meat,  potatoes,  and  ale  Everything  was 
now  pure  Finnish,  and  the  first  question  of  the  girl, 
"  Hvarifran  komrnar  du  ?"  (Where  dost  thou  come  from  ?) 
showed  an  ignorance  of  the  commonest  Swedish  form  of 
address.  She  awoke  us  with  a  cup  of  coffee  in  the  morning, 
and  negotiated  for  us  the  purchase  of  a  reindeer  skin,  which 
we  procured  for  something  less  than  a  dollar.  The  hus- 
bonde  (house-peasant,  as  the  landlord  is  called  here)  made 
no  charge  for  our  entertainment,  but  said  we  might  give 
what  we  pleased.  I  offered,  at  a  venture,  a  sum  equal  to 
about  fifty  cents,  whereupon  he  sent  the  girl  to  say  that  he 
thanked  us  most  heartily. 

The  next  day  was  a  day  to  be  remembered  :  such  a  glory 
of  twilight  splendors  for  six  full  hours  was  beyond  all  the 
charms  of  daylight  in  any  zone.  We  started  at  seven,  with 
a  temperature  of  20°  below  zero,  still  keeping  up  the  left 
bank  of  the  Tornea.  The  country  now  rose  into  bold  hills 
and  the  features  of  the  scenery  became  broad  and  majestic 
The  northern  sky  was  again  pure  violet,  and  a  pale  red 


CROSSING    THE   ARCTIC   CIRCLE.  78 

tinge  from  the  dawn  rested  on  the  tops  of  the  snowy  hills 
The  prevailing  color  of  the  sky  slowly  brightened  into  lilac 
then  into  pink,  then  rose  color,  which  again  gave  way  to  a 
flood  of  splendid  orange  when  the  sun  appeared.  Every 
change  of  color  affected  the  tone  of  the  landscape.  The 
woods,  so  wrapped  in  snow  that  not  a  single  green  needle 
was  to  be  seen,  took  by  turns  the  hues  of  the  sky,  and 
seemed  to  give  out,  rather  than  to  reflect,  the  opalescent 
lustre  of  the  morning.  The  sunshine  brightened  instead  of 
dispelling  these  effects.  At  noon  the  sun's  disc  was  not 
more  than  1°  above  the  horizon,  throwing  a  level  golden 
light  on  the  hills.  The  north,  before  us,  was  as  blue  as  the 
Mediterranean,  and  the  vault  of  heaven,  overhead,  canopied 
us  with  pink.  Every  object  was  glorified  and  transfigured 
in  the  magic  glow. 

At  the  first  station  we  got  some  hot  milk,  with  raw 
salmon,  shingle  bread  and  frozen  butter.  Our  horses  were 
good,  and  we  drove  merrily  along,  up  the  frozen  Tornea. 
The  roads  were  filled  with  people  going  to  church,  probably 
to  celebrate  some  religious  anniversary.  Fresh  ruddy  faces 
had  they,  firm  features,  strong  frames  and  resolute  carriage, 
but  the  most  of  them  were  positively  ugly,  and,  by  contrast 
with  the  frank  Swedes,  their  expression  was  furtive  and 
sinister.  Near  PackilS  we  passed  a  fine  old  church  of  red 
brick,  with  a  very  handsome  belfry.  At  Niemis  we  changed 
horses  in  ten  minutes,  and  hastened  on  up  the  bed  of  the 
Tornea  to  Matarengi,  where  we  should  reach  the  Arctic 
Circle.  The  hills  rose  higher,  with  fine  sweeping  outlines 
»nd  the  river  was  still  half  a  mile  broad — a  plain  of  solid 
snow,  with  the  track  marked  out  by  bushes.  We  kept  a 


$0  XORTHKRX   TRAVEL 

sharp  look-out  for  the  mountain  of  Avasaxa,  one  of  th< 
stations  of  Celsius,  Maupertius,  and  the  French  Academi- 
cians, who  came  here  in  1736,  to  make  observations  deter- 
mining the  exact  form  of  the  earth.  Through  this  moin 
tain,  it  is  said,  the  Arctic  Circle  passes,  though  our  maps 
were  neither  sufficiently  minute  nor  correct  to  determine 
the  point.  We  took  it  for  granted,  however,  as  a  mile  one 
way  or  the  other  could  make  but  little  difference :  and  as 
Matarengi  lies  due  west  of  Avasaxa.  across  the  river,  we 
decided  to  stop  there  and  take  dinner  on  the  Arctic  Circle. 

The  increase  of  villages  on  both  banks,  with  the  appear- 
ance of  a  large  church,  denoted  our  approach  to  Matarengi. 
and  we  saw  at  once  that  the  tall,  gently-rounded,  isolated 
hill  opposite,  now  blazing  with  golden  snow,  could  be  none 
other  than  Avasaxa.  Here  we  were,  at  last,  entering  the 
Arctic  Zone,  in  the  dead  of  winter — the  realization  of  a 
dream  which  had  often  flashed  across  my  mind,  when  loung- 
ing under  the  tropical  palms ;  so  natural  is  it  for  one  ex- 
treme to  suggest  the  opposite.  I  took  our  bearings  with  a 
compass-ring,  as  we  drove  forward,  and  as  the  summit  of 
Avasaxa  bore  due  east  we  both  gave  a  shout  which  startled 
our  postilion  and  notably  quickened  the  gait  of  our  horses. 
It  was  impossible  to  toss  our  caps,  for  they  were  not  Dnly 
tied  upon  our  heads,  but  frozen  fast  to  our  beards.  So  here 
we  were  at  last,  in  the  true  dominions  of  Winter.  A  mild 
ruler  he  had  been  to  us,  thus  far,  but  he  proved  a  despot 
before  we  were  done  with  him. 

Soon  afterwards,  we  drove  into  the  inn  at  Matarengi, 
which  \vas  full  of  country  people,  who  had  come  to  attend 
church.  The  landlord,  a  sallow,  watery-eyed  Finn,  wbc 


CROSSING    THi:    ARCTIC    CmCLE.  gl 

knew  a  few  words  of  Swedish,  gave  us  a  room  in  an  adjoin- 
ing house,  and  furnished  a  dinner  of  boiled  fish  and  barley 
mush,  to  which  was  added  a  bottle  labelled  "  Dry  Madeira,'1 
brought  from  Haparanda  for  the  occasion.  At  a  shop  ad- 
joining, Braisted  found  a  serviceable  pipe,  so  that  nothing 
was  wanting  to  complete  our  jubilee.  We  swallowed  the 
memory  of  all  who  were  dear  to  us,  in  the  dubious  beverage, 
inaugurated  our  Arctic  pipe,  which  we  proposed  to  take 
home  as  a  souvenir  of  the  place,  and  set  forward  in  the 
most,  cheery  mood. 

Our  road  now  crossed  the  river  and  kept  up  the  Russian 
side  to  a  place  with  the  charming  name  of  Torakankorwa. 
The  afternoon  twilight  was  even  more  wonderful  that 
that  of  the  forenoon.  There  were  broad  bands  of  purple, 
pure  crimson,  and  intense  yellow,  all  fusing  together  into 
fiery  orange  at  the  south,  while  the  north  became  a  semi- 
vault  of  pink,  then  lilac,  and  then  the  softest  violet.  The 
dazzling  Arctic  hills  participated  in  this  play  of  colors, 
which  did  not  fade,  as  in  the  South,  but  stayed,  and  stayed, 
as  if  God  wished  to  compensate  by  this  twilight  glory  for 
the  loss  of  the  day.  Nothing  in  Italy,  nothing  in  the 
Tropics,  equals  the  magnificence  of  the  Polar  skies.  The 
twilight  gave  place  to  a  moonlight  scarcely  less  brilliant. 
Our  road  was  hardly  broken,  leading  through  deep  snow, 
sometimes  on  the  river,  sometimes  through  close  little  glens, 
hedged  in  with  firs  drooping  with  snow — fairy  Arctic  soli 
tudes,  white,  silent  and  mysterious 

By  seven  o'clock  we  reached  a  station  called  Juoxengi 
The  place  was  wholly  Finnish,  and  the  landlord,  who  did 
not  understand  a  word  of  Swedish,  endeavoured  to  make  us 


82  NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 

go  on  tD  the  next  station.  We  pointed  to  the  beds  and 
quietly  carried  in  our  baggage.  I  made  the  usual  signs  foi 
eating,  which  speedily  procured  us  a  pail  of  sour  milk,  bread 
and  butter,  and  two  immense  tin  drinking  horns  of  sweet 
milk.  The  people  seemed  a  little  afraid  of  us,  and  kept 
away.  Our  postilion  was  a  silly  fellow,  who  could  not  un- 
derstand whether  his  money  was  correct.  In  the  course  of 
our  stenographic  conversation,  I  learned  that  "  cax"  signi- 
fied two.  When  I  gave  him  his  drink-money  he  said 
"  ketox  r  and  on  going  out  the  door,  "  huweste  !" — so  that 
I  at  least  discovered  the  Finnish  for  "  Thank  you !"  and 
"Good-bye!"  This,  however,  was  not  sufficient  to  order 
horses  the  next  morning.  We  were  likewise  in  a  state  of 
delightful  uncertainty  as  to  our  future  progress,  but  this 
very  uncertainty  gave  a  zest  to  our  situation,  and  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  find  two  jollier  men  with  frozen  nosea 


KM  I  Kl..-    AMUMi    THK   FINNS 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ADVENTURES    AMONG    THE   FINNS 

WE  drank  so  much  milk  (for  want  of  more  solid  food)  at 
Juoxeno;!,  that  in  spite  of  sound  sleep  under  our  sheepskin 
blankets,  we  both  awoke  with  headaches  in  the  morning, 
The  Finnish  landlord  gave  me  to  understand,  by  holding  up 
his  fore-linger,  and  pronouncing  the  word  "*#,"  that  I  was 
to  pay  one  rig-sdaler  (about  26  cents),  for  our  entertainment, 
and  was  overcome  with  grateful  surprise  when  I  added  a 
trifle  more.  We  got  underway  by  six  o'clock,  when  the 
night  was  just  at  its  darkest,  and  it  was  next  to  impossible 
to  discern  any  track  on  the  spotless  snow.  Trusting  to  good 
luck  to  escape  overturning,  we  followed  in  the  wake  of  the 
skjutsbonde,  who  had  mounted  our  baggage  sled  upon  one 
of  the  country  sledges,  and  rode  perched  upon  his  lofty  seat. 
Our  horses  were  tolerable,  but  we  had  eighteen  miles  to 
Pello,  the  next  station,  which  we  reached  about  ten  o'clock. 

Our  road  was  mostly  upon  the  Tornea  River,  sometimes 
taking  to  the  woods  on  either  side,  to  cut  off  bends.  The 
morn  was  hours  in  dawning,  with  the  same  splendid  tran- 
sitions of  colour.  The  forests  were  indescribable  in  theif 
iilence,  whiteness,  and  wonderful  variety  of  snowy  adorn 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL 


merit.  The  weeping  birches  leaned  over  the  road,  and 
formed  white  fringed  arches  ;  the  firs  wore  mantles  of  ermine, 
ind  ruffe  and  tippets  of  the  softest  swan's  down.  Snow, 
wind,  and  frost  had  worked  the  most  marvellous  transfoi 
nations  in  the  forms  of  the  forest.  Here  were  kneeling 
nuns,  with  their  arms  hanging  listlessly  by  their  sides,  and 
the  white  cowls  falling  over  their  faces  :  there  lay  a  warrior's 
helmet  ;  lace  curtains,  torn  and  raggedj  hung  from  the 
points  of  little  Gothic  spires;  caverns,  lined  with  sparry 
incrustations,  silver  palm-leaves,  doors,  loop-holes,  arches 
and  arcades  were  thrown  together  in  a  fantastic  confusion 
and  mingled  with  the  more  decided  forms  of  the  larger  trees, 
which,  even,  were  trees  but  in  form,  so  completely  were  they 
wrapped  in  their  dazzling  disguise.  It  was  an  enchanted 
land,  where  you  hardly  dared  to  breathe,  lest  a  breath  might 
break  the  spell. 

There  was  still  little  change  in  the  features  of  the  country 
except  that  it  became  wilder  and  more  rugged,  and  the  set 
tlements  poorer  and  further  apart.  There  were  low  hills  on 
either  side,  wildernesses  of  birch  and  fir,  and  floors  of  level 
snow  over  the  rivers  and  marshes.  On  approaching  Pello, 
we  saw  our  first  rein-deer,  standing  beside  a  hut.  He  was 
a  large,  handsome  animal  ;  his  master,  who  wore  a  fnr  dress, 
we  of  course  set  down  for  a  Lapp.  At  the  inn  a  skinny  old 
hag,  who  knew  a  dozen  words  of  Swedish,  got  us  some  bread, 
milk,  and  raw  frozen  salmon,  which,  with  the  aid  of  a  great 
deal  of  butter,  sufficed  us  for  a  meal.  Our  next  stage  was 
to  Kardis,  sixteen  miles,  which  we  made  in  four  hours. 
While  in  the  midst  of  a  forest  .  n  the  Swedish  side,  we  fell 
in  with  a  herd  of  rein-deer,  attended  by  half-a-dozen  Lapps 


ADVENTURES   AMONG   THE   FINNS.  86 

They  came  tramping  along  through  the  snow,  about  fifty  in 
number,  including  a  dozen  which  ran  loose.  The  othera 
were  harnessed  to  pulks,  the  canoe-shaped  rein-deer  sledges, 
many  of  which  were  filled  with  stores  and  baggage.  The 
Lapps  were  rather  good-looking  young  fellows,  with  a 
bright  coppery,  orange  complexion,  and  were  by  no  means 
so  ill-favoured,  short,  and  stunted  as  I  had  imagined.  One 
of  them  was,  indeed,  really  handsome,  with  his  laughing 
eyes,  sparkling  teeth,  and  a  slender,  black  moustache. 

We  were  obliged  to  wait  a  quarter-of-an-hour  while  the 
herd  passed,  and  then  took  to  the  river  again.  The  effect 
of  sunset  on  the  snow  was  marvellous — the  spotless  mounds 
and  drifts,  far  and  near,  being  stained  with  soft  rose  colour, 
until  they  resembled  nothing  so  much  as  heaps  of  straw- 
berry ice.  At  Kardis  the  people  sent  for  an  interpreter, 
who  was  a  young  man,  entirely  blind.  He  helped  us  to  get 
our  horses,  although  we  were  detained  an  hour,  as  only  one 
horse  is  kept  in  readiness1  at  these  stations,  and  the  neigh- 
bourhood must  be  scoured  to  procure  another.  I  employed 
the  time  in  learning  a  few  Finnish  words — the  whole  tra- 
velling-stock, in  fact,  on  which  I  made  the  journey  to 
Muonioniska.  That  the  reader  may  see  how  few  words  of 
a  strange  language  will  enable  him  to  travel,  as  well  as  to 
give  a  sample  of  Finnish,  1  herewith  copy  my  whole  voca- 
bulary : 

one 

two 

three 

four 

five 

six 

Mven 

5 


flx 

eight 

kahexa 

cax 

nine 

5hexa 

kolma 

ten 

kiumene 

nelia 

a  half 

puoli 

viis 

horses 

hevorste 

oos 

immediately 

varsin 

settima 

ready 

walmifl 

gg  NORTHEIIN  TRAVEL, 


ilrive  on 
how  much  • 
a  mile 
bread 
meat 
milk 

ayd  perli  ! 
guiiiga  palia  ? 
peligorma 
leba 
liha 
maito 

butter 
fire 
a  bed 
good 

voy 
valkar 
sangu  (Swedish) 
hiiva 
paha 

fre  kept  on  our  way  up  the  river,  in  the  brilliant  after 
aoon  moonlight.  The  horses  were  slow ;  so  were  the  twr 
skjutsbonder,  to  whom  I  cried  in  vain :  "  Ay  6  perli  \' 
Braisted  with  difficulty  restrained  his  inclination  to  cufl 
their  cars.  Hour  after  hour  went  by,  and  we  grew  more 
and  more  hungry,  wrathful  and  impatient.  About  eight 
o'clock  they  stopped  below  a  house  on  the  Russian  side, 
pitched  some  hay  to  the  horses,  climbed  the  bank,  and  sum- 
moned us  to  follow.  We  made  our  way  with  some  difficulty 
through  the  snow,  and  entered  the  hut,  which  proved  to  be 
the  abode  of  a  cooper — at  least  the  occupant,  a  rough,  shaggy, 
dirty  Orson  of  a  fellow,  was  seated  upon  the  floor,  making 
a  tub,  by  the  light  of  the  fire.  The  joists  overhead  were 
piled  with  seasoned  wood,  and  long  bundles  of  thin,  dry  fir, 
which  is  used  for  torches  during  the  winter  darkness.  There 
was  neither  chair  nor  table  in  the  hut ;  but  a  low  bench  ran 
around  the  walls,  and  a  rough  bedstead  was  built  against 
one  corner.  Two  buckets  of  sour  milk,  with  a  wooden 
ladle,  stood  beside  the  door.  This  beverage  appears  to  be 
generally  used  by  the  Finns  for  quenching  thirst,  instead  of 
water.  Our  postilions  were  sitting  silently  upon  the  bench, 
and  we  followed  their  example,  lit  our  pipes,  and  puffed 
away,  while  the  cooper,  after  the  first  glance,  went  on  with 
his  work ;  and  the  other  members  of  his  family,  clustered 
together  in  the  dusky  corner  behind  the  fire-place,  were 


*r>VF.NTURF,S   AMONG    I'HE    FINNS.  87 

silent.  Half  an  hour  passed,  and  the  spirit  moved 
no  one  to  open  his  mouth.  I  judged  at  last  that  the  horses 
had  been  baited  sufficiently,  silently  showed  my  watch  to 
the  postilions,  who,  with  ourselves,  got  up  and  went  awaj 
without  a  word  having  been  said  to  mar  the  quaint  droller} 
of  the  incident. 

While  at  Haparanda,  we  had  been  recommended  to  stop 
at  Kingis  Bruk,  at  the  junction  of  the  Tornea  and  Muonio. 
"There,"  we  were  told,  "you  can  get  everything  you  want: 
.nere  is  a  fine  house,  good  bed?,  and  plenty  to  cat  and  drink." 
Our  blind  interpreter  at  Kardis  repeated  this  advice. 
"  Don't  go  on  to  Kexisvara ;"  (the  next  station)  said  he, 
"stop  at  Kengis,  where  everything  is  good."  Toward 
Kengis,  then,  this  oasis  in  the  arctic  desolation,  our  souls 
yearned.  We  drove  on  until  ten  o'clock  in  the  brilliant 
moonlight  and  mild,  delicious  air — for  the  temperature  had 
actually  risen  to  25°  above  zero ! — before  a  break  in  the 
hills  announced  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers.  There  was 
a  large  house  on  the  top  of  a  hill  on  our  left,  and.  to  our 
great  joy,  the  postilions  drove  directly  up  to  it.  "  Is  this 
Kengis  ?"  I  asked,  but  their  answers  I  could  not  understand, 
and  they  had  already  unharnessed  their  horses. 

There  was  a  light  in  the  house,  and  we  caught  a  glimpse 
of  a  woman's  face  at  the  window,  as  we  drove  up.  But  the 
light  was  immediately  extinguished,  and  everything  became 
silent.  I  knocked  at  the  door,  which  was  partly  open,  but 
no  one  came.  I  then  pushed  :  a  heavy  log  of  wood,  which 
Was  leaning  against  it  from  the  inside,  fell  with  a  noise 
which  reverberated  through  the  hor.se.  I  waited  awhile, 
and  then,  groping  my  way  along  a  passage  to  the  door  of 


gg  NORTHERN    TR.  VEL. 

the  room  which  had  been  lighted,  knocked  loudly.  After  I 
little  delay,  the  door  was  opened  by  a  young  man,  whc 
ushered  me  into  a  warm,  comfortable  room,  and  then  quietly 
itared  at  me,  as  if  to  ask  what  I  wanted.  "  We  are  travel- 
era  and  strangers,"  said  I,  "  and  wish  to  stop  for  the  night." 
'This  is  not  an  inn,"  he  answered;  "it  is  the  residence  of 
the  patron  of  the  iron  works.'3  I  may  here  remark  that  it 
is  the  general  custom  in  Sweden,  in  remote  districts,  for 
travellers  to  call  without  ceremony  upon  the  parson,  magis- 
trate, or  any  other  prominent  man  in  a  village,  and  claim 
his  hospitality.  In  spite  of  this  doubtful  reception,  con 
sidering  that  our  horses  were  already  stabled  and  the 
Station  three  or  four  miles  further,  I  remarked  again :  ':  But 
perhaps  we  may  be  allowed  to  remain  here  until  morning  ?' 
"  I  will  ask,"  he  replied,  left  the  room,  and  soon  returned 
with  an  affirmative  answer. 

We  had  a  large,  handsomely  furnished  room,  with  a  sofa 
and  curtained  bed,  into  which  we  tumbled  as  soon  as  the 
servant-girl,  in  compliance  with  a  hint  of  mine,  had  brought 
up  -ome  bread,  milk,  and  cheese.  We  had  a  cup  of  coffee 
in  the  morning,  and  were  preparing  to  leave  when  the 
patron  appeared.  He  was  a  short,  stout,  intelligent  Swede, 
who  greeted  us  courteously,  and  after  a  little  conversation, 
urged  us  to  stay  until  after  breakfast.  We  were  too  hungry 
lo  need  much  persuasion,  and  indeed  the  table  set  with 
tjdde,  or  capercailie  (one  of  the  finest  game  birds  in  tie 
world),  potatoes,  cranberries,  and  whipped  cream,  accom- 
panied with  excellent  Umea  ale,  and  concluded  with  coffee 
surpassed  anything  we  had  sat  down  to  for  many  a  day 
The  potion  gave  me  considerable  information  about  th< 


ADS  I.M  I  KK.S    AMONG   THE    FINNS.  gt< 

;ouiitry,  and  quieted  a  little  anxiety  I  was  beginning  to  feel 
by  assuring  me  that  we  should  find  post-horses  all  the  way 
to  Muonioniska,  still  ninety-five  miles  distant.  He  in- 
formed me  that  we  had  already  got  beyond  the  daylight,  aa 
the  sun  had  not  yet  risen  at  Kengis.  This,  however,  was 

n  consequence  of  a  hill  to  the  southward,  as  we  afterwards 
found  that  the  sun  was  again  above  the  horizon. 

We  laid  in  fuel  enough  to  bst  us  through  the  day,  and 
then  took  leave  of  our  host,  who  invited  us  to  visit  him  on 
our  return.  Crossing  the  Tornea,  an  hour's  drive  over  the 
hills  brought  us  to  the  village  of  Kexisvara,  where  we  were 
obliged  to  wait  some  time  for  our  horses.  At  the  inn  there 
was  a  well  forty  feet  deep,  with  the  longest  sweep-pole  I 
ever  saw.  The  landlady  and  her  two  sisters  were  pleasant 
bodies,  and  sociably  inclined,  if  we  could  have  talked  to 
them.  They  were  all  spinning  toAv,  their  wheels  purring 
like  pleased  lionesses.  The  sun's  disc  came  in  sight  at  a 
quarter  past  eleven,  and  at  noon  his  lower  limb  just  touched 
the  horizon.  The  sky  was  of  a  splendid  saffron  hue,  which 
changed  into  a  burning  brassy  yellow. 

Our  horses  promised  little  for  speed  when  we  set  out,  and 
their  harness  being  ill  adapted  to  our  sleds  increased  the 
difficulty.  Instead  of  hames  there  were  wide  wooden  yokes, 
the  ends  of  which  passed  through  mortices  in  the  ends  of  the 
shafts,  and  were  fastened  with  pins,  while,  as  there  was  no 
belly-bands,  the  yokes  rose  on  going  down  hill,  bringing  our 

leds  upon  the  horses'  heels.  The  Finnish  sleds  hav« 
excessively  long  shafts,  in  order  to  prevent  this.  Our  road 
all  day  was  upon  the  Muonio  River,  the  main  \ ranch  of  the 
Tornea,  and  the  boundary  between  Sweden  and  Russia, 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 


above  the  junction.  There  had  been  a  violent  wind  during 
the  night,  and  the  track  was  completely  filled  up..  The 
Tornea  and  Muonio  are  both  rery  swift  rivers,  abounding 
in  dangerous  rapids,  but  during  the  winter,  rapids  and  alL 
they  are  solid  as  granite  from  their  sources  to  the  Bothnian 
Gulf.  We  plunged  along  slowly,  hour  after  hour,  more 
than  half  the  time  clinging  to  one  side  or  the  other,  to  pre- 
vent our  sled  from  overturning  —  and  yet  it  upset  at  least  a 
dozen  times  during  the  day.  The  scenery  was  without 
rhange  :  low,  black  fir  forests  on  either  hand,  with  the 
decorative  snow  blown  off  them  ;  no  villages,  or  signs  of  life, 
except  the  deserted  huts  of  the  wood-cutters,  nor  did  we 
meet  but  one  sled  during  the  whole  day.  Here  and  there, 
on  the  banks,  were  sharp,  canoe-like  boats,  twenty  or  thirty 
feet  long,  turned  bottom  upward.  The  sky  was  overcast, 
shutting  out  the  glorious  coloring  of  the  past  days  The 
sun  set  before  one  o'clock,  and  the  dull  twilight  deepened 
apace  into  night.  Nothing  could  be  more  cheerless  and  dis- 
mal :  we  smoked  and  talked  a  little,  with  much  silence 
between,  and  I  began  to  think  that  one  more  such  day 
would  disgust  me  with  the  Arctic  Zone. 

It  was  four  o'clock,  and  our  horses  were  beginning  to 
.•tagger,  when  we  reached  a  little  village  called  Jokijalka, 
on  the  Russian  side.  The  postilion  stopped  at  a  house,  or 
rather  a  quadrangle  of  huts,  which  he  made  me  comprehend 
was  an  inn,  adding  that  it  was  4  poldn  and  3  belikor  (a 
fearfully  unintelligible  distance!)  to  the  next  one.  We 
entered,  and  found  promise  enough  in  the  thin,  sallow, 
Bandy-haired,  and  most  obsequious  landlord,  and  a  whole 
herd  of  rosy  children,  to  decide  us  to  stop.  We  were 


iDVENTURES   AMONG   THE   FINNS. 


ushered  into  the  milk-room,  which  was  warm  and  carpeted 
and  had  a  single  narrow  bed.  I  employed  my  vocabulary 
with  good  effect,  the  quick-witted  children  helping  me  out 
and  in  due  time  we  got  a  supper  of  fried  mutton,  bread 
butter,  and  hot  milk.  The  children  carue  in  every  few 
minutes  to  stare  at  our  writing,  an  operation  which  they 
probably  never  saw  before.  They  would  stand  in  silent 
suriosity  for  half  an  hour  at  a  time,  then  suddenly  rush  out, 
and  enjoy  a  relief  of  shouts  and  laughter  on  the  outside 
Since  leaving  Matarengi  we  had  been  regarded  at  all  the 
stations  with  much  wonder,  not  always  unmixed  with  mis- 
trust. Whether  this  was  simply  a  manifestation  of  the 
dislike  which  the  Finns  have  for  the  Swedes,  for  whom  they 
probably  took  us,  or  of  other  suspicions  on  their  part,  we 
could  not  decide. 

After  a  time  one  of  the  neighbors,  who  had  been  sent  for 
on  account  of  his  knowing  a  very  few  words  of  Swedish,  waa 
ushered  into  the  room.  Through  him  I  ordered  horses,  ana 
ascertained  that  the  next  station,  Kihlangi,  was  three  and  a 
half  Swedish  miles  distant,  but  there  was  a  place  on  the 
Russian  side,  one  mile  off,  where  we  could  change  horses. 
We  had  finished  writing,  and  were  sitting  by  the  stove,  con- 
sulting how  we  should  arrange  the  bed  so  as  to  avoid 
contact  with  the  dirty  coverlet,  when  the  man  returned  and 
told  us  we  must  go  into  another  house.  We  crossed  the 
yard  to  the  opposite  building,  where,  to  our  great  surprise, 
we  were  ushered  into  a  warm  room,  with  two  good  beds, 
which  had  clean  though  coarse  sheets,  a  table,  looking-glass, 
and  a  bit  of  carpet  on  the  floor.  The  whole  male  household 
congregated  to  see  us  take  possession  and  ascertain  whether 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 


our  wants  were  supplied.  1  slept  luxuriously  until  awaa- 
enfcd  by  the  sound  of  our  landlord  bringing  in  wood  to  light 
the  fire.  He  no  sooner  saw  that  my  eyes  were  open  than  he 
snatched  off  his  cap  and  threw  it  upon  the  flo^r,  moving 
bout  with  as  much  awe  and  silence  as  if  it  were  the 
Emperor's  bedroom.  His  daughter  brought  us  excellent 

coffee  betimes.     We  washed  our  faces  with  our  tumblers  of 

• 

drinking  water,  and  got  under  way  by  half-past  six. 

The  temperature  had  changed  again  in  the  night,  being 
28°  below  zero,  but  the  sky  was  clear  and  the  morning 
moonlight  superb.  By  this  time  we  were  so  far  north  that 
the  moon  did  not  set  at  all,  but  wheeled  around  the  sky, 
sinking  to  within  eight  degrees  of  the  horizon  at  noonday. 
Our  road  led  across  the  river,  past  the  church  of  Kolare, 
and  through  a  stretch  of  the  Swedish  forests  back  to  the 
river  again.  To  our  great  surprise,  the  wind  had  not  blown 
here,  the  snow  still  hung  heavy  on  the  trees,  and  the  road 
was  well  beaten.  At  the  Russian  post-house  we  found  only 
a  woman  with  the  usual  troop  of  children,  the  eldest  of 
whom,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  was  splitting  fir  to  make  torches 
I  called  out  "  hevorste  !"  (horses),  to  which  he  made  a 
deliberate  answer,  and  went  on  with  his  work.  After  some 
consultation  with  the  old  woman,  a  younger  boy  was  sent 
off  somewhere,  and  we  sat  down  to  await  the  result.  I  called 
for  meat,  milk,  bread,  and  butter,  which  procured  us  in 
course  of  time  a  pitcher  of  cold  milk,  some  bread  made  of 
gf  und  barley  straw,  horribly  hard  and  tough,  and  a  lump 
of  sour  frozen  butter.  There  was  some  putrid  fish  in  a 
wooden  bowl,  on  which  the  family  had  breakfasted,  while  an 
immense  pot  }f  sour  milk,  buter,  broken  bread,  and  straw 


ADVENTURES    AMONG   THE    FINNS.  93 

meal,  hanging  over  the  fire,  contained  their  dinner.  Thig 
was  testimony  enough  to  the  accounts  we  had  heard  in 
Stockholm,  of  the  year's  famine  in  Finland ;  and  we  seemed 
jkely  to  participate  in  it. 

I  chewed  the  straw  bread  vigorously  for  an  hour,  and 
jracceeded  in  swallowing  enough  to  fill  my  stomach,  though 
not  enough  to  satisfy  my  hunger.  The  younger  children 
occupied  themselves  in  peeling  off  the  soft  inner  bark  of  the 
fir,  which  they  ate  ravenously.  They  were  handsome,  fair- 
skinned  youngsters,  but  not  so  rosy  and  beautiful  as  those 
of  the  Norrland  Swedes.  We  were  obliged  to  wait  more 
than  two  hours  before  the  horses  arrived,  thus  losing  a  large 
part  of  our  daylight.  The  postilions  fastened  our  sleds 
behind  their  own  large  sledges,  with  flat  runners,  which  got 
through  the  snow  more  easily  than  ours.  We  lay  down  in 
the  sledge,  stretched  ourselves  at  full  length  upon  a  bed  of 
hay,  covered  our  feet  with  the  deerskin,  and  set  off.  We 
had  gone  about  a  Swedish  mile  when  the  postilions  stopped 
to  feed  the  horses  before  a  house  on  the  Russian  side. 
There  was  nobody  within,  but  some  coals  amonjr  the  ashes 
on  the  hearth  showed  that  it  had  been  used,  apparently,  as  a 
place  of  rest  and  shelter.  A  tall,  powerful  Finn,  who  was 
travelling  alone,  was  there,  smoking  his  pipe.  We  all  sat 
down  and  did  likewise,  in  the  bare,  dark  hut.  There  were 
the  three  Finns,  in  complete  dresses  of  reindeer  skin,  and 
ourselves,  swaddled  from  head  to  foot,  with  only  a  small 
segment  of  scarlet  face  visible  between  our  frosted  furs  and 
icy  beards.  It  was  a  true  Arctic  picture,  as  seen  by  the  pale 
dawn  which  glimmered  on  the  wastes  of  snow  outside. 

We  had  a  poor  horse,  which  soon  shov/ed  signs  of  breaking 
5* 


SOUTHERN    TRAVEL 


down,  especially  when  we  again  entered  a  belt  of  countr) 
where  the  wind  had  blown,  the  trees  were  clear,  and  the 
track  filled  up.  At  half-past  eleven  we  saw  the  light  of  the 
gun  on  the  tops  of  the  hills,  and  at  noon  about  half  his  disc 
was  visible.  The  cold  was  intense  ;  my  hands  became  so  stiff 
and  benumbed  that  I  had  great  difficulty  in  preventing  them 
from  freezing,  and  my  companion's  feet  almost  lost  all  feel- 
ing. It  was  well  for  us  that  we  were  frequently  obliged  to 
walk,  to  aid  the  horse.  The  country  was  a  wilderness  of 
mournful  and  dismal  scenery  —  low  hills  and  woods,  stripped 
bare  of  snow,  the  dark  firs  hung  with  black,  crape-like  moss, 
alternating  with  morasses.  Our  Finnish  postilions  were 
pleasant,  cheerful  fellows,  who  insisted  on  our  riding  when 
there  was  the  least  prospect  of  a  road.  Near  a  solitary  hut 
(the  only  one  on  the  road)  we  met  a  man  driving  a  reindeer. 
After  this  we  lost  all  signs  of  our  way.  except  the  almost 
obliterated  track  of  his  pulk.  The  snow  was  deeper  than 
ever,  and  our  horses  were  ready  to  drop  at  every  step.  We 
had  been  five  hours  on  the  road  ;  the  driver  said  Kihlangi 
was  "  v,x  verst"  distant,  and  at  three,  finally,  we  arrived. 
We  appreciated  rather  better  what  we  had  endured  when  we 
found  that  the  temperature  was  44°  below  zero 

I  at  once  ordered  horses,  and  a  strapping  young  fellow  was 
tient  off  in  a  bad  humor  to  get  them.  We  found  it  impossi- 
ble, however,  to  procure  milk  or  anything  to  eat,  and  as  the 
cold  was  not  to  be  borne  else,  we  were  obliged  to  resort  to  a 
bottle  of  cognac  and  our  Haparanda  bread.  The  old  woman 
sat  by  the  fire  smoking,  and  gave  not  the  least  attention  to 
our  demands.  I  paid  our  postilions  in  Norwegian  orfs, 
which  they  laid  upon  a  chair  and  counted,  with  the  assist 


ADVF.NTTRES   AMONG   TITE    FINNS 


Mice  of  the  whole  family.  After  the  reckoning  was  finished 
they  asked  me  what  the  value  of  each  piece  was,  which  gave 
rise  to  a  second  general  computation.  There  was,  apparen  tly, 
more  than  they  had  expected,  for  they  both  made  me  a  formal 
address  of  thanks,  and  took  my  hand.  Seeing  that  I  had 
produced  a  good  effect  I  repeated  my  demand  for  milk. 
The  old  woman  refused,  but  the  men  interfered  in  my 
behalf;  she  went  out  and  presently  returned  with  a  bowl 
full,  which  she  heated  for  us  By  this  time  our  horses  had 
arrived,  and  one  of  our  new  postilions  prepared  himself  for 
th«?  journey,  by  stripping  to  the  loins  and  putting  on  a  clean 
shirt.  He  was  splendidly  built,  with  clean,  firm  muscle,  a 
white  glossy  skin,  and  no  superfluity  of  flesh.  He  then 
donned  a  reindeer  of  p6sk,  leggings  and  boots,  and  we  started 
again. 

It  was  nearly  five  o'clock,  and  superb  moonlight.  This 
time  they  mounted  our  sleds  upon  their  own  sledges,  so 
that  we  rode  much  higher  than  usual.  Our  way  lay  up  the 
Muonio  River  :  the  track  was  entirely  snowed  up,  and  we 
had  to  break  a  new  one,  guided  by  the  fir-trees  stuck  in  the 
ice.  The  snow  was  full  three  feet  deep,  and  whenever  the 
sledge  got  a  little  off  the  old  road,  the  runners  cut  in  so  that 
we  could  scarcely  move.  The  milk  and  cognac  had  warmed 
us  tolerably,  and  we  did  not  suffer  much  from  the  intense 
cold.  My  nose,  however,  had  been  rubbed  raw,  and  I  waa 
obliged  to  tie  a  handkerchief  across  my  face  to  protect  it. 

While  journeying  along  in  this  way,  the  sledge  suddenly 
tilted  over,  and  we  were  flung  head  foremost  into  the  snow. 
Our  drivers  righted  the  sledge,  we  shook  ourselves  and  got 
•n  again,  but  had  not  gone  ten  yards  before  the  same  thing 


96  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

happened  again.  This  was  no  joke  on  such  a  night,  but  art 
took  it  good-humouredly,  to  the  relief  of  the  Finns,  ^ho 
seemed  to  expect  a  scolding.  Very  soon  we  went  over  a 
third  time,  and  then  a  fourth,  after  which  they  kept  near  us 
and  held  on  when  there  was  any  danger.  I  became  very 
drowsy,  and  struggled  with  all  my  force  to  keep  awake,  for 
sleeping  was  too  hazardous.  Braisted  kept  his  senses  about 
him  by  singing,  for  our  encouragement,  the  mariner's 
hymn : — 

"  Fear  not,  but  trust  in  Providence, 
Wherever  thou  may'st  be." 

Thus  hour  after  hour  passed  away.  Fortunately  we  had 
gocd,  strong  horses,  which  walked  fast  and  steadily.  The 
scenery  was  always  the  same — low,  wooded  hills  on  either 
side  of  the  winding,  snowy  plain  of  the  river.  We  had 
made  up  our  minds  not  to  reach  Parkajoki  before  midnight, 
but  at  half- past  ten  our  track  left  the  river,  mounted  the 
Swedish  bank,  and  very  soon  brought  us  to  a  quadrangle  of 
low  huts,  having  the  appearance  of  an  inn.  I  could  scarcely 
believe  my  eyes  when  we  stopped  before  the  door.  "  Is  thia 
Parkajoki  ?"  I  asked.  "  Ja  /"  answered  the  postilion. 
Braisted  and  I  sprang  out  instantly,  hugged  each  other  in 
delight,  and  rushed  into  the  warm  inn.  The  thermometer 
Htill  showed — 44°,  and  we  prided  ourselves  a  little  on  hav 
ing  travelled  for  seventeen  hours  in  such  a  cold  with  so 
little  food  to  keep  up  our  animal  heat.  The  landlord,  a 
young  man,  with  a  bristly  beard  of  three  weeks'  growlfc. 
showed  us  into  the  milk  room,  where  there  was  a  bed  oi 
reindeer  skins.  His  wife  brought  us  some  fresh  hay,  a 


ADVENTURES  AMONG   THE    FINNS  97 

^uilt  and  a  sheepskin  coverlet,  and  we  soon  forgot  both  GUI 
hunger  and  our  frozen  blood. 

In  the  morning  coffee  was  brought  to  us,  and  as  nothing 
else  was  to  be  had,  we  drank  four  cups  apiece.  The  land 
lord  asked  half  a  rigs  (13  cents)  for  our  entertainment,  and 
was  overcome  with  gratitude  when  I  gave  him  double  th« 
sum.  \Ve  had  the  same  sledges  as  the  previous  night,  but 
new  postilions  and  excellent  horses.  The  temperature  had 
risen  to  5°  below  zero,  with  a  cloudy  sky  and  a  light  snow 
falling.  We  got  off  at  eight  o'clock,  found  a  track  partly 
broken,  and  went  on  at  a  merry  trot  up  the  river.  We 
took  sometimes  one  bank  .and  sometimes  the  other,  until, 
after  passing  the  rapid  of  Eyanpaika  (which  was  frozen 
solid,  although  large  masses  of  transparent  ice  lay  piL'd  like 
rocks  on  either  side),  we  kept  the  Swedish  bank.  We  were 
in  excellent  spirits,  in  the  hope  of  reaching  Muorioniska 
l>ef»re  dark,  but  the  steady  trot  of  our  horses  brought  ua 
out  of  the  woods  by  noon,  and  we  saw  before  us  the  long, 
scattering  village,  a  mile  or  two  distant,  across  the  river 
To  our  left,  on  a  gentle  slope,  stood  a  red,  two-story  build- 
ing, surrounded  by  out-houses,  with  :t  few  humbler  habita- 
tions in  its  vicinity.  This  was  Muoniovara,  on  the  Swedish 
side — the  end  of  our  Finnish  journey. 


NORTHERN  TRAVK1. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

LIFE   IN   LAPLAND. 

As  we  drove  up  to  the  red  two-story  house,  a  short  man 
with  dark  whiskers  and  a  commercial  air  came  forward  to 
meet  us.  I  accosted  him  in  Swedish,  asking  him  whether 
the  house  was  an  inn.  He  replied  in  the  negative,  adding 
that  the  only  inn  was  in  Muonioniska,  on  the  Russian  side, 
a  mile  or  more  distant.  I  then  asked  for  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Wolley,  the  English  naturalist,  whose  name  had  been 
mentioned  to  me  by  Prof.  Retzius  and  the  botanist  Hart- 
man.  He  thereupon  called  to  some  one  across  the  court, 
and  presently  appeared  a  tall,  slender  man  dressed  in  the 
universal  gray  suit  which  travelling  Englishmen  wear,  from 
the  Equator  to  the  Poles.  He  came  up  with  extended  hand, 
on  hearing  his  own  language ;  a  few  words  sufficed  for  ex- 
planation, and  he  devoted  himself  to  our  interests  with  the 
cordiality  of  an  old  acquaintance.  He  lived  with  the  Swede, 
Herr  Forstrom,  who  was  the  merchant  of  the  place ;  but 
the  wife  of  the  latter  had  just  been  confined,  and  there  was 
no  room  in  his  house.  Mr.  Wolley  proposed  at  first  to  send 
lo  the  inn  in  Muonioniska,  and  engage  a  room,  but  after- 
wardfc  arranged  with  a  Norsk  carpenter  who  lived  on  the 


i.lFE   IX   LAPLAND.  99 

lull  above,  to  give  us  quarters  in  his  house,  S3  that  we  might 
be  near  enough  to  take  our  meals  together.  Nothing  could 
have  suited  us  better.  We  took  possession  at  once,  and 
then  descended  the  hill  to  a  dinner — I  had  ventured  to  hint 
at  our  famished  condition — of  capercailie,  cranberries,  sof 
bread,  whipped  cream,  and  a  glass  of  genuine  port. 

Warmed  and  comforted  by  such  luxurious  fare,  we  climbed 
the  hill  to  the  carpenter's  house,  in  the  dreary  Arctic  twi- 
light, in  the  most  cheerful  and  contented  frame  of  mind 
Was  this,  indeed,  Lapland  ?  Did  we,  indeed,  stand  already 
in  the  dark  heart  of  the  polar  Winter  ?  Yes ;  there  was 
no  doubt  of  it.  The  imagination  could  scarcely  conceive  a 
more  desolate  picture  than  that  upon  which  we  gazed — the 
plain  of  sombre  snow,  beyond  which  the  black  huts  of  the 
village  were  faintly  discernible,  the  stunted  woods  and  bleak 
hills,  which  night  and  the  raw  snow  clouds  had  half  obscured, 
and  yonder  fur-clad  figure  gliding  silently  along  beside  his 
reindeer.  Yet,  even  here,  where  Man  seemed  to  have  set- 
tled out  of  pure  spite  against  Nature,  were  comfort  and 
hospitality  and  kindness.  We  entered  the  carpenter's  house, 
lit  our  candles  and  pipes,  and  sat  down  to  enjoy  at  ease  the 
unusual  feeling  of  shelter  and  of  home.  The  building  was 
of  squared  fir-logs,  with  black  moss  stuffed  in  the  crevices, 
making  it  very  warm  and  substantial.  Our  room  contained 
a  loom,  two  tables,  two  beds  with  linen  of  voluptuous  soft- 
ness and  cleanness,  an  iron  stove  (the  first  we  had  seen  in 
Sweden),  and  the  usual  washing  apparatus,  besides  a  piece 
of  carpet  on  the  floor.  What  more  could  any  man  desire  ? 
The  carpenter,  Herr  Knoblock,  spoke  some  German  ;  his 
son,  Ludwig,  Mr.  Wolley's  servant,  also  looked  after  oui 


Jt)0  NOKT1IKRN   TRAVEL 

needs ;  and  the  daughter,  a  fair,  blooming  girl  uf  about 
nineteen,  brought  us  coffee  before  we  were  out  of  bed,  and 
kept  our  fire  in  order.  Why,  Lapland  was  a  very  Sybaris 
in  comparison  with  what  I  had  expected. 

Mr.  Wolley  proposed  to  us  another  luxury,  in  the  snaps 
of  a  vapour-bath,  as  Herr  Forstrom  had  one  of  those  bath- 
ing-houses which  are  universal  in  Finland.  It  was  a  little 
wooden  building  without  window's.  A  Finnish  servant-girl 
who  had  been  for  some  time  engaged  in  getting  it  in  readi- 
ness, opened  the  door  for  us.  The  interior  was  very  hot 
and  moist,  like  an  Oriental  bathing  -hall.  In  the  centre  was 
a  pile  of  hot  stones,  covered  with  birch  boughs,  the  leaves  of 
which  gave  out  an  agreeable  smell,  and  a  large  tub  of  water. 
The  floor  was  strewn  with  straw,  and  under  the  roof  was  a 
platform  extending  across  one  end  of  the  building.  This 
was  covered  with  soft  hay,  and  reached  by  means  of  a  ladder, 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  full  effect  of  the  steam 
Some  stools,  and  a  bench  for  our  clothes,  completed  the  ar- 
rangements. There  was  also  in-  one  corner  a  pitcher  of 
water,  standing  in  a  little  heap  of  snow  to  keep  it  cool. 

The  servant-girl  came  in  after  us,  and  Mr.  W.  quietly 
proceeded  to  undress,  informing  us  that  the  girl  was  bathing- 
master,  and  would  do  the  usual  scrubbing  and  shampooing. 
This,  it  seems,  is  the  general  practice  in  Finland,  and  is 
out  another  example  of  the  unembarrassed  habits  of  the 
people  in  this  part  of  the  world  The  poorer  families  go 
into  their  bathing-rooms  together — father,  mother,  and 
Children — and  take  turns  in  polishing  each  other's  backs. 
[t  would  have  been  ridiculous  to  have  shown  any  hesitation 
ander  the  circumstances — in  fact,  an  indignity  to  the  honest 


LIFK  IN   LAPLAND. 


•»iiK\>ir*  hearted,  virtuous  girl—  and  so  we  deliberately  nib 
dressed  also.  When  at  last  we  stood,  like  our  first  parents 
in  Paradise,  "naked  and  not  ashamed,"  she  handed  us 
bunches  of  birch-twigs  with  the  leaves  on,  the  use  of  which 
was  suggested  by  the  leaf  of  sculpture.  We  mounted  tc 
the  platform  and  lay  down  upon  our  backs,  whereupon  she 
increased  the  temperature  by  throwing  water  upon  the  hoi 
stones,  until  the  heat  was  rather  oppressive,  and  we  began 
to  swe<it  profusely.  She  then  took  up  a  bunch  of  birch- 
twigs  which  had  been  dipped  in  hot  water,  and  switched  us 
smartly  from  head  to  foot.  When  we  had  become  thorough- 
ly parboiled  and  lax,  we  descended  to  the  floor,  seated  our- 
selves upon  the  stools,  and  were  scrubbed  with  soap  as 
thoroughly  as  propriety  permitted.  The  girl  was  an 
admirable  bather,  the  result  of  long  practice  in  the  business 
She  finished  by  pouring  hot  water  over  us,  and  then  drying 
us  with  warm  towels.  The  Finns  frequently  go  out  and 
roll  in  the  snow  during  the  progress  of  the  bath.  I  ven- 
tured so  far  as  to  go  out  and  stand  a  few  seconds  in  the 
open  air.  The  mercury  was  at  zero,  and  the  effect  of  the 
cold  on  my  heated  skin  was  delightfully  refreshing. 

I  dressed  in  a  violent  perspiration,  and  then  ran  across  to 
Herr  Forstrom's  house,  where  tea  was  already  waiting  for 
us.  Here  we  found  the  Idnsman  or  magistrate  of  th", 
Russian  district  opposite,  a  Herr  Br&xen,  who  was  decorated 
with  the  order  of  Stanislaus  for  his  services  in  Finland 
luring  the  recent  war.  He  was  a  tall,  dark-haired  man, 
jrith  a  restless  light  in  his  deep-set  eyes,  and  a  gentleman  in 
his  demeanor.  He  entered  into  our  plans  with  interest,  and 
the  evening  was  spent  in  consultation  concerning  them 


|02  NORTHFRN  TKAVF.T, 

Finally,  it  was  decided  that  Herr  Forstrom  should  send  e 
messenger  up  the  river  to  Palajoki  (forty  miles  off),  te 
engage  Lapps  and  reindeer  to  take  us  across  the  mountains 
to  Kautokeino,  in  Norway.  As  the  messenger  would  be 
absent  three  or  four  days  we  had  a  comfortable  prospect  o 
rest  before  us,  and  I  went  to  bed  with  a  light  heart,  to  wake 
to  the  sixth  birthday  I  have  passed  in  strange  lands. 

In  the  morning,  I  went  with  Mr.  Wolley  to  call  upon  a 
Finn,  one  of  whose  children  was  suffering  from  inflamed 
eyes,  or  snowthalmia,  as  it  might  be  called.  The  family 
were  prolific,  as  usual — children  of  all  sizes,  with  a  regular 
gradation  of  a  year  between.  The  father,  a  short,  shock- 
headed  fellow,  sat  in  one  corner ;  the  mother,  who,  like  nine- 
tenths  of  all  the  matrons  we  had  seen  between  Lapland  and 
Stockholm,  gave  promise  of  additional  humanity,  greeted  us 
with  a  comical,  dipping  courtesy — a  sudden  relaxing  and 
stiffening  again  of  the  muscles  of  the  knees — which  might 
be  introduced  as  a  novelty  into  our  fashionable  circles. 
The  boy's  eyes  were  terribly  blood-shot,  and  the  lids  swollen, 
but  a  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver,  which  Mr.  W.  applied, 
relieved  him  greatly  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  two.  We 
took  occasion  to  visit  the  stable,  where  half  a  dozen  cows 
lay  in  darkness,  in  their  warm  stalls,  on  one  side,  with  two 
bulls  and  some  sheep  on  the  other.  There  was  a  fire  in  one 
corner,  over  which  hung  a  great  kettle  filled  with  a  mixture 
of  boiled  hay  and  reindeer  moss.  Upon  this  they  are  fed 
while  the  sheep  must  content  themselves  with  bunches  oi 
birch,  willow  and  aspen  twigs,  gathered  with  the  leaves  on 
The  hay  is  strong  and  coarse,  but  nourishing,  and  the  rein- 
leer  moss,  a  delicate  white  lichen,  contains  a  glutinous  ia 


LIFE  IN    LAPLAND.  103 

gredient,  which  probably  increases  the  secretion  of  milk. 
The  stable,  as  well  as  Forstrom's,  which  we  afterwards 
inspected,  was  kept  in  good  order.  It  was  floored,  with  a 
gutter  past  each  row  of  stalls,  to  carry  off  the  manure 
The  cows  were  handsome  white  animals,  in  very  good  con- 
dition. 

Mr.  Wolley  sent  for  his  reindeer  in  the  course  of  the 
morning,  in  order  to  give  us  a  lesson  in  driving.  After 
lunch,  accordingly,  we  prepared  ourselves  for  the  new  sensa- 
tion. I  put  on  a  poesk  of  reindeer  skin,  and  my  fur-lined 
Russian  boots.  Ludwig  took  a  pulk  also,  to  assist  us  in 
case  of  need.  These  pulks  are  shaped  very  much  like  a 
canoe;  they  are  about  five  feet  long,  one  foot  deep,  and 
eighteen  inches  wide,  with  a  sharp  bow  and  a  square  stern. 
You  sit  upright  against  the  stern-board,  with  your  legs 
stretched  out  in  the  bottom.  The  deer's  harness  consists 
only  of  a  collar  of  reindeer  skin  around  the  neck,  with  a 
rope  at  the  bottom,  which  passes  under  the  belly,  between  the 
legs,  and  is  fastened  to  the  bow  of  the  pulk.  He  is  driven 
by  a  single  rein,  attached  to  the  base  of  the  left  horn,  and 
passing  over  the  back  to  the  right  hand  of  the  driver,  who 
thrusts  his  thumb  into  a  loop  at  the  end,  and  takes  several 
turns  around  his  wrist.  The  rein  is  held  rather  slack,  in 
order  that  it  may  be  thrown  over  to  the  right  side  when  it 
slips  to  the  left,  which  it  is  very  apt  to  do. 

I  seated  myself,  took  proper  hold  of  the  rein,  and  awaite 
the  signal  to  start.     My  deer  was  a  strong,  swift  animal, 
who  had  just  shed  his  horns.     Ludwig  set  off  first ;  my  deer 
gave  a  startling  leap,  dashed  around  the  corner  of  the  house, 
and  made  down  the  hill.     I  tried  to  catch  the  breath  which 


l(J4  NORTHERN   TRAVEL 

had  been  jerked  out  of  me,  and  to  keep  my  balance,  as  tht 
pulk,  swaying  from  side  to  side,  bounced  over  the  snow.  It 
was  too  late;  a  swift  presentiment  of  the  catastrophe  flashed 
across  my  mind,  but  I  was  powerless  to  avert  it.  In  another 
iecond  I  found  myself  rolling  in  the  loose  snow,  with  the 
pulk  bottom  upward  beside  me.  The  deer,  who  was  attached 
to  my  arm,  was  standing  still,  facing  me,  with  an  expres- 
sion of  stupid  surprise  (but  no  sympathy)  on  his  face.  1 
got  up,  shook  myself,  righted  the  pulk,  and  commenced 
again.  Off  we  went,  like  the  wind,  down  the  hill,  the  snow 
flying  in  my  face  and  blinding  me.  My  pulk  made  tremen- 
dous leaps,  bounding  from  side  to  side,  until,  the  whirlwind 
suddenly  subsiding,  I  found  myself  off  the  road,  deep  over- 
head in  the  snow,  choked  and  blinded,  and  with  small  snow- 
drifts in  my  pockets,  sleeves  and  bosom.  My  beard  and 
eyebrows  became  instantly  a  white,  solid  mass,  and  my  face 
began  to  tingle  from  its  snow -bath  ;  but,  on  looking  back,  I 
saw  as  white  a  beard  suddenly  emerge  from  a  drift,  followed 
by  the  stout  body  of  Braisted,  who  was  gathering  himself 
up  after  his  third  shipwreck. 

We  took  a  fresh  start,  1  narrowly  missing  another  over- 
turn, as  we  descended  the  slope  below  the  house,  but  on 
reaching  the  level  of  the  Muonio,  I  found  no  difficulty  in 
keeping  my  balance,  and  began  to  enjoy  the  exercise.  My 
deer  struck  out,  parsed  the  others,  and  soon  I  was  alone  on 
the  track.  In  the  grey  Arctic  twilight,  gliding  noiselessly 
nd  swiftly  over  the  snow,  with  the  low  huts  of  Muonioniska 
dimly  seen  in  the  distance  before  me,  1  had  my  first  true  ex- 
perience of  Lapland  travelling.  It  was  delightfully  novel 
and  exhilarating  ;  I  thought  of  "  Afraja,"  and  the  song  of 


LIFE   IX    I.APLANJ  1()5 

1  Kulnusatz,  ray  reindeer!'*  and  Bryant's  "  Vrctic  Lover/' 
and  whatever  else  there  is  of  Polar  poetry,  urgtd  ray  deer 
with  shouts,  and  never  once  looked  behind  me  until  I  had 
climbed  the  opposite  shore  and  reached  the  village.  My 
companions  were  then  nowhere  to  be  seen.  I  waited  sonn 
time  before  they  arrived,  Braisted's  deer  having  become 
fractious  and  run  back  with  him  to  the  house.  His  crimson 
face  shone  out  from  its  white  frame  of  icy  hair,  as  he  shouted 
to  me,  :(  There  is  nothing  equal  to  this,  except  riding  be- 
hind a  right  whale  when  he  drives  to  windward,  with  every 
man  trimming  the  boat,  and  the  spray  flying  over  your 
bows !" 

We  now  turned  northward  through  the  village,  flying 
around  many  sharp  corners,  but  this  I  found  comparatively 
easy  work.  But  for  the  snow  I  had  taken  in,  which  now 
began  to  melt,  I  got  on  finely  in  spite  of  the  falling  flakes, 
which  beat  in  our  faces.  Von  Buch,  in  his  journey  through 
Lapland  in  1807,  speaks  of  Muonioniska  as  "a village  with 
an  inn  where  they  have  silver  spoons."  We  stopped  at  a 
house  which  Mr.  Wolley  stated  was  the  very  building,  but 
it  proved  to  be  a  more  recent  structure  on  the  site  of  the 
old  inn.  The  people  looked  at  us  with  curiosity  on  hearing 
we  were  Americans.  They  had  heard  the  name  of  America, 
but  did  not  seem  to  know  exactly  where  it  was.  On  leay- 
ing  the  house,  we  had  to  descend  the  steep  bank  of  the 
river.  I  put  out  my  feet  to  steady  the  pulk,  and  thereby 
ploughed  a  cataract  of  fine  snow  into  my  face,  completely 
blinding  me.  The  pulk  gave  a  flying  leap  from  thesteepes' 
pitch,  flung  me  out,  and  the  deer,  eager  to  make  for  home 
dragged  me  by  the  arm  for  about  twenty  yards  before  J 


£06  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

could  arrest  him.  This  was  the  worst  upset  of  all,  and  fai 
from  pleasant,  altaough  the  temperature  was  only  zero.  I 
reached  home  again  without  further  mishap,  flushed,  ex- 
cited, soaked  with  melted  snow,  and  confident  of  my  ability 
to  drive  reindeer  with  a  little  more  practice. 

During  the  first  three  days,  the  weather  was  raw,  dark 
and  lowering,  with  a  temperature  varying  from  9°  above  to 
13°  below  zero.  On  the  morning  of  the  14th,  however,  th 
sky  finally  cleared,  with  a  cold  south  wind,  and  we  saw,  for 
the  first  time,  the  range  of  snowy  mountains  in  the  east 
The  view  from  our  hill,  before  so  dismally  bleak  and  dark, 
became  broad  and  beautiful,  now  that  there  was  a  little 
light  to  see  it  by.  Beyond  the  snowy  floor  of  the  lake  and 
the  river  Muonio  stretched  the  scattering  huts  of  Muonion- 
iska,  with  the  church  overlooking  them,  and  the  round, 
white  peak  of  Ollastyntre  rising  above  his  belt  of  black 
woods  to  the  south.  Further  to  the  east  extended  alternate 
streaks  of  dark  forest  and  frozen  marsh  for  eighteen  miles, 
to  the  foot  of  the  mountain  range  of  Palastyntre,  which 
stood  like  a  line  of  colossal  snow-drifts  against  the  soft 
violet  sky,  their  sides  touched  by  the  rosily-golden  beams  of 
the  invisible  sun.  This  and  the  valley  of  the  Tornea,  at 
Avasaxa,  are  two  of  the  finest  views  in  Lapland. 

I  employed  part  of  my  time  in  making  some  sketches  ol 
characteristic  faces.  Mr.  Wolley.  finding  that  I  wished  to 
procure  good  types  of  the  Finns  and  Lapps,  kindly  assisted 
me — his  residence  of  three  years  in  Muoniovara  enabling 
aim  to  know  who  were  the  most  marked  and  peculiar  per- 
sonages. Ludwig  was  despatched  to  procure  an  old  fellow 
by  the  name  of  Niemi,  a  Finn,  who  promised  to  coroplr 


1,111.    IN     I..  \IM.ANU 


with  my  wishes;  but  his  ignorance  made  him  suspicious 
and  it  was  necessary  to  send  again.  "  I  know  what  travel- 
lers are,"  said  he,  ':  and  what  a  habit  they  have  of  getting 
people's  skulls  to  carry  home  with  them.  Even  if  they  are 
arrested  for  it,  they  are  so  rich,  they  always  buy  over  the 
judges.  Who  knows  but  they  might  try  to  kill  me  for  the 
sake  of  my  skull  ?"  After  much  persuasion,  he  was  finally 
induced  to  come,  and,  seeing  that  Ludwig  supposed  he  was 
still  afraid,  he  said,  with  great  energy  :  "  1  have  made  up 
my  mind  to  go,  even  if  a  shower  of  knives  should  fall  from 
heaven  !"  He  was  seventy-three  years  old,  though  he  did 
not  appear  to  be  over  sixty  —  his  hair  being  thick  and  black, 
his  frame  erect  and  sturdy,  and  his  colour  crimson  rather 
than  pale.  His  eyebrows  were  jet-black  and  bushy,  his  eyes 
large  and  deep  set,  his  nose  strong  and  prominent,  and  the 
corners  of  his  long  mouth  drawn  down  in  a  settled  curve, 
expressing  a  melancholy  grimness.  The  high  cheek-bones, 
square  brow,  and  muscular  jaw  belonged  to  the  true  Finnish 
type.  He  held  perfectly  still  while  I  drew,  scarcely  moving 
a  muscle  of  his  face,  and  I  succeeded  in  getting  a  portrait 
which  everybody  recognised. 

1  gave  him  a  piece  of  money,  with  which  he  was  greatly 
delighted  ;  and,  after  a  cup  of  coffee,  in  Herr  Knoblock'g 
kitchen,  he  went  home  quite  proud  and  satisfied.  "  They  do 
not  at  all  look  like  dangerous  persons."  said  he  to  the  car- 
penter ;  "  perhaps  they  do  not  collect  skulls.  I  wish  they 
ipoke  our  language,  that  I  might  ask  them  how  people  live 
in  their  country.  America  is  a  very  large,  wild  place.  1 
know  all  about  it,  and  the  discovery  of  it.  I  was  not  there 
myself  at  the  time,  but  Jenis  Lampi,  who  lives  ir  Kittila, 


SOKIUllKN    TI5AVEI.. 


was  one  of  the  crew  of  the  ship,  and  lie  told  me  how  it  hap' 
pencd.  Jeriis  Lampi  suid  they  were  .going  to  throw  th« 
captain  overboard,  but  he  persuaded  them  to  give  him  three 
duys,  and  on  the  third  day  they  found  it.  Now  I  should 
like  to  know  whether  these  people,  who  come  from  that 
jountry,  have  laws  as  we  have,  and  whether  they  live  as 
comfortably."  So  saying,  Isaaki  Anderinpoika  Niemi  de- 
parted. 

No  sooner  had  he  gone  than  the  old  Lapp  woman.  Elsa, 
who  had  been  sent  for,  drove  up  in  her  pulk,  behind  a  fast 
reindeer.  She  was  in  complete  Lapp  costume  —  a  blue  cloth 
gown  with  wide  sleeves,  trimmed  with  scarlet,  and  a  curioua 
pear-shaped  cap  of  the  same  material,  upon  her  head.  She 
sat  upon  the  floor,  on  a  deer-skin,  and  employed  herself  in 
twisting  reindeer  sinews,  which  she  rolled  upon  her  cheek 
with  the  palm  of  her  hand,  while  I  was  sketching  her.  It 
was  already  dark,  and  I  was  obliged  to  work  by  candle  light, 
but  I  succeeded  in  catching  the  half-insane,  witch-like  ex- 
pression of  her  face.  When  I  took  the  candle  to  examine 
her  features  more  closely,  she  cried  out,  "  Look  at  me,  O  sou 
of  man  !"  She  said  that  I  had  great  powers,  and  was  capa- 
ble of  doing  everything,  since  I  had  come  so  far,  and  could 
make  an  image  of  her  upon  paper.  She  asked  whether  we 
were  married,  saying  we  could  hardly  travel  so  much  if  we 
were  ;  yet  she  thought  it  much  better  to  be  married  and  stay 
at  home.  I  gave  her  a  rigsdaler,  which  she  took  with  joyful 
surprise,  saying  "  What  !  am  I  to  get  my  coffee  and  tobacco 
and  be  paid  too  ?  Thanks,  O  son  of  man,  for  your  great 
goodness  \"  She  chuckled  very  much  over  the  drawing,  say 
ing  that  the  dress  was  exactly  right. 


I.IKK    IX    1. ATI. AM). 

In  the  afternoon  we  to.ok  another  reindeer  drive  to 
ioniska,  paying  a  visit  to  Pastor  Fall,  the  clergyman  whom 
we  had  met  at  Forstrom's.  This  time  I  succeeded  very  well 
linking  the  trip  without  a  single  overturn,  though  with 
everal  mishaps.  Mr.  Wolley  lost  the  way,  and  we  drove 
about  at  random  for  some  time.  My  deer  became  restive, 
and  whirled  me  around  in  the  snow,  filling  my  pulk.  It  was 
BO  dark  that  we  could  scarcely  see,  and,  without  knowing  the 
ground,  one  could  not  tell  where  the  ups  and  down  were 
The  pastor  received  us  courteously,  treated  us  to  coffee  and 
pipes,  and  conversed  with  us  for  some  time.  He  had  not,  as 
he  said,  a  Swedish  tongue,  and  I  found  it  difficult  to  under- 
stand him.  On  our  way  back,  Braisted's  and  Ludwig's  deers 
ran  together  with  mine,  and,  while  going  at  full  speed,  B.'s 
jumped  into  my  pulk.  1  tried  in  vain  either  to  stop  or  drive 
on  faster ;  he  trampled  me  so  violently  that  I  was  obliged  to 
throw  myself  out  to  escape  his  hoofs.  Fortunately  the 
animals  are  not  heavy  enough  to  do  any  serious  harm.  We 
reached  Forstrom's  in  season  for  a  dinner  of  fat  reindeer 
steak,  cranberries,  and  a  confect  of  the  Arctic  raspberry. 

After  an  absence  of  three  days  Salomon,  the  messenger 
who  had  been  sent  up  the  river  to  engage  reindeer  for  us, 
returned,  having  gone  sixty  miles  before  he  could  procure 
them.  He  engaged  seven,  which  arrived  the  next  evening, 
in  the  charge  of  a  tall,  handsome  Finn,  who  was  to  be  our 
jonducter.  We  had,  in  the  meantime,  suuplied  ourselves 
with  reindeer  poesks,  such  as  the  Lapps  wear. — our  own 
rurs  being  impracticable  for  pulk  travelling — reindeer  mit- 
tens and  ix>as  of  squirrel  tails  strung  on  reindeer  sinews, 
The  carpenter's  uecond  son,  Anton,  a  lad  of  fifteen,  was 
engaged  to  accompany  us  as  nn  interpreter.  6 


110  NOKTHEKX  TKAVEL. 


CHAPTER   X. 

A    REINDEER   JOURNEY   ACROSS    LAPLAND. 

WE  left  Muoniovara  at  noon  on  the  15th,  fully  prep  an -d 
for  a  three  days'  journey  across  the  wild?  of  Lapland.  AVe 
were  about  to  traverse  the  barren,  elevated  table-land,  which 
divides  the  waters  of  the  Bothnian  Gulf  from  those  of  the 
Northern  Ocean, — a  dreary,  unfriendly  region,  inhabited 
only  by  a  few  wandering  Lapps.  Even  without  the  preva- 
lence of  famine,  we  should  have  had  difficulty  in  procuring 
food  from  them,  so  we  supplied  ourselves  with  a  saddle  of 
reindeer,  six  loaves  of  rye  bread,  sugar,  and  a  can  of  coffee. 
The  carpenter  lent  us  a  cup  and  saucer,  and  Anton,  who  fell 
all  the  responsibility  of  a  boy  who  is  employed  for  the  first 
time,  stowed  everything  away  nicely  in  the  broad  baggage 
pulk.  We  found  it  impossible  to  procure  Lapp  leggings  and 
shoes  at  Muonivara,  but  our  Russian  boots  proved  an  ad- 
mirable  substitute.  The  poesk  of  reindeer  skin  is  the 
warmest  covering  for  the  body  which  could  be  devised.  It 
ig  drawn  over  the  head  like  a  shirt,  fitting  closely  around 
the  neck  and  wrists,  where  it  is  generally  trimmed  with 
ermine,  and  reaching  half-way  below  the  knee.  A  thick 
woollen  .Math,  wrapped  first  uround  the  neck,  the  ends  theD 


«    KF.INDEER   JOURNEY    ACROSS   LAPI.AN1>.  HI 

twistc-d  together  down  to  the  waist,  where  they  are  passec 
tightly  around  the  bodv  and  tied  in  front,  not  only  increases 
the  warmth  and  convenience  of  the  garment,  but  gives  it  a 
highly  picturesque  air.  Our  sea-otter  caps,  turned  down  so 
as  to  cover  the  ears  and  forehead,  were  fastened  upon  our 
heads  with  crimson  handkerchiefs,  and  our  boas,  of  black  and 
red  squirrel  tails,  passed  thrice  around  the  neck,  reached  to 
the  tips  of  our  noses.  Over  our  dog-skin  mittens  we  drew 
gauntlets  of  reindeer  skin,  with  which  it  was  difficult  to  pick 
up  or  take  hold  of  anything ;  but  as  the  deer's  rein  is  twisted 
around  one's  wrist,  their  clumsiness  does  not  interfere  with 
the  facility  of  driving.  It  would  seem  impossible  for  even 
Arctic  cold  to  penetrate  through  such  defences — and  yet  it 
did. 

Herr  Forstrom  prepared  us  for  the  journey  by  a  good 
breakfast  of  reindeer's  marrow,  a  justly  celebrated  Lapland 
delicacy,  and  we  set  out  with  a  splendidly  clear  sky  and  a 
cold  of  12°  below  zero.  The  Muonio  valley  was  superb, 
towards  sunrise,  with  a  pale,  creamy,  saffron  light  on  the 
snow,  the  forests  on  the  tops  of  the  hills  burning  like  jagged 
masses  of  rough  opal,  and  the  distant  range  of  Palastyntre 
bathed  in  pink  light,  with  pure  sapphire  shadows  on  its 
northern  slopes.  These  Arctic  illuminations  are  transcend- 
ent; nothing  can  equal  them,  and  neither  pen  nor  pencil  can 
describe  them.  We  passed  through  Muonioniska,  arid  kep 
up  the  Russian  side,  over  an  undulating,  wooded  country 
The  road  was  quite  good,  but  rny  deer,  in  spite  of  his  siz 
und  apparent  strength,  was  a  lazy  beast,  and  gave  me  much 
trouble.  I  was  obliged  to  get  out  of  the  pulk  frequently 
»nd  punch  him  in  the  flanks,  taking  my  chance  to  tumble  ir 


I  12  NORTHKRX   TRAVEL. 

headbng  as  he  sprang  forward  again.  I  soon  became  dis 
gusted  with  reindeer  travelling,  especially  when,  after  we  had 
been  on  the  road  two  hours  and  it  was  nearly  dark  we 
'cached  Upper  Muonioniska,  only  eight  miles.  We  thert 
ook  the  river  again,  and  made  better  progress  to  Kyrkes 
juando,  the  first  station,  where  we  stopped  an  hour  to  feed 
the  deer.  Here  there  was  a  very  good  little  inn,  with  a  bed 
for  travellers. 

We  had  seven  reindeer,  two  of  which  ran  loose,  so  that  wt 
could  change  occasionally  on  the  road.  I  insisted  on  chang- 
ing mine  at  once,  and  received  in  return  a  smaller  animal, 
which  made  up  in  spirit  what  he  lacked  in  strength.  Our 
sonductor  was  a  tall,  handsome  Finn,  with  blue  eyes  and  a 
bright,  rosy  complexion.  His  name  was  Isaac,  hut  he  was 
better  known  by  his  nickname  of  Pitka  Isaaki,  or  Long 
Isaac.  He  was  a  slow,  good-humoured,  prudent,  careful  fel- 
low, and  probably  served  our  purpose  as  well  as  anybody  we 
could  have  found.  Anton,  however,  who  made  his  first  jour- 
ney with  us,  was  invaluable.  His  father  had  some  misgiv- 
ings on  account  of  his  timidity,  but  he  was  so  ambitious  to 
give  satisfaction  that  we  found  him  forward  enough. 

I  have  already  described  the  country  through  which  we 
passed,  as  it  was  merely  a  continuation  of  the  scenery  below 
Muonioniska  —  low,  wooded  hill?,  white  plains,  and  every- 
where rinow,  snow,  snow,  silence  and  death.  The  cold  in- 
creased to  33  °  below  zero,  obliging  me  to  bury  my  nose  in 
my  boa  and  to  keep  up  a  vigorous  exercise  of  my  toes  to  pre- 
vent them  from  freezing,  as  it  is  impossible  to  cover  one's 
be  Jta  in  a  pulk.  The  night  was  calm,  clear,  and  starry  ;  but 
after  an  hour  a  bank  of  auroral  light  gradually  arose  in  the 


A  REINDEER   JOURNEY   ACROSS   LAPLAND.  HJj 

north,  and  formed  a  broad  arch,  which  threw  its  lustre  over 
the  snow  and  lighted  up  our  path.  Almost  stationary  ai 
first,  a  restless  motion  after  a  time  agitated  the  gleaming 
bow  ;  it  shut  out  broad  streamers  of  yellow  fire,  gathered 
them  in  and  launched  them  forth  again,  like  the  hammer  of 
Thor.  which  always  returned  to  his  hand,  after  striking  the 
blow  for  which  it  had  been  hurled.  The  most  wonderful  ap- 
pearance, however,  was  an  immense  square  curtain,  which 
fell  from  all  the  central  part  of  the  arch.  The  celestial 
scene-shifters  were  rather  clumsy,  for  they  allowed  one  end 
to  fall  lower  than  the  other,  so  that  it  over-lapped  and  dou- 
bled back  upon  itself  in  a  broad  fold.  Here  it  hung  for  pro- 
bably half  an  hour,  slowly  swinging  to  and  fro,  as  if  moved 
by  a  gentle  wind.  What  new  spectacle  was  in  secret  prepara- 
tion behind  it  we  did  not  learn,  for  it  was  hauled  up  so  bung- 
lingly  that  the  whole  arch  broke  and  fell  in,  leaving  merely 
f\  pile  of  luminous  ruins  under  the  Polar  Star. 

Hungry  and  nearly  frozen,  we  reached  Pah'joki  at  half- 
past  nine,  and  were  at  once  ushered  into  the  guests'  room,  a 
little  hut  separated  from  the  main  building.  Here,  barring 
an  inch  of  ice  on  the  windows  and  numerous  windy  cracks 
in  the  floor,  we  felt  a  little  comfort  before  an  immense  fire 
kindled  in  the  open  chimney.  Our  provisions  were  already 
adamantine ;  the  meat  was  transformed  into  red  Finland 
granite,  and  the  bread  into  mica-slate.  Anton  and  the  old 
Finnish  landlady,  the  mother  of  many  sons,  immediately 
commenced  the  work  of  thawing  and  cooking,  while  I,  by  th« 
light  of  fir  torches.  i,ok  the  portrait  of  a  dark-haired,  black- 
eyed,  olive-skinned,  big-nosed,  thick-lipped  youth,  who  gare 
his  name  as  Eric  Johan  Sombasi.  When  our  meal  of  meat, 


[14  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

bread,  and  coffee  had  been  despatched,  the  old  woman  made 
a  bed  of  rciideer  skins  for  us  in  one  corner,  covered  with  a 
coarse  sheet,  a  quilt,  and  a  sheepskin  blanket.  She  then  took 
her  station  near  the  d  jor,  where  several  of  the  sons  were  al- 
ready standing,  and  all  appeared  to  be  waiting  in  silent  ci> 
riosity  to  see  us  retire.  We  undressed  with  genuine  Fin- 
nish freedom  of  manner,  deliberately  enough  for  them  to 
understand  the  peculiarities  of  our  apparel,  and  they  never 
took  their  eyes  from  us  until  we  were  stowed  away  for  the 
night  in  our  warm  nest. 

It  was  snowing  and  blowing  when  we  arose.  Long  Isaac- 
had  gone  to  the  woods  after  the  reindeer,  and  we  employed 
the  delay  in  making  a  breakfast  off  the  leavings  of  our  sup- 
per. Crossing  the  Muonio  at  starting,  we  entered  the 
Russian  territory  and  drove  up  the  bed  of  the  Palajok,  a 
tributary  stream  which  comes  down  from  the  north.  The 
sky  became  clearer  as  the  dawn  increased ;  the  road  w;is 
tolerably  broken,  and  we  sped  merrily  along  the  windings  of 
the  river,  under  its  tall  banks  fringed  with  fir  trees,  which, 
loaded  with  snowr  shone  brilliantly  white  against  the  rosy 
sky.  The  temperature  was  8°  below  zero,  which  felt  un- 
pleasantly warm,  by  contrast  with  the  previous  evening. 

After'  a  time  we  left  the  river  and  entered  a  rolling  up- 
land— alternate  thickets  of  fir  and  birch,  and  wastes  of  fro- 
zen marsh,  where  our  path  was  almost  obliterated.  After 
more  than  two  hours'  travel  we  came  upon  a  large  lake,  at 
the  further  end  of  which,  on  the  southern  side  of  a  hill,  was 
the  little  hamlet  of  Suontaj&rvi.  Here  we  stopped  to  bait 
the  deer,  Braisted's  and  mine  being  nearly  fagged  out.  Wt 
entered  one  of  the  huts,  where  a  pleasant  woman  was  taking 


A    KF.IXDEER    JOURNEY   ACROSS   LAPLAND.  H5 

charge  of  a  year-old  baby.  There  was  no  fire  on  the  hearth, 
and  the  wind  whistled  through  the  open  cracks  of  the  floor 
Long  Isaac  and  the  woman  saluted  each  other  by  placing 
their  right  arms  around  each  other's  waists,  which  is  the 
universal  manner  of  greeting  in  Finland.  They  only  shak« 
bands  as  a  token  of  thanks  for  a  favour. 

We  started  again  at  noon,  taking  our  way  across  a  wil- 
derness of  lakes  and  snow-covered  marshes,  dotted  with 
stunted  birch-thickets.  The  road  had  entirely  disappeared, 
but  Eric  of  Palajoki,  who  accompanied  us  as  an  extra  guide, 
went  ahead  with  a  strong  reindeer  and  piloted  us.  The 
sagacity  with  which  these  animals  find  the  track  under  a 
smooth  covering  of  loose  snow,  is  wonderful.  They  follow 
it  by  the  feet,  of  course,  but  with  the  utmost  ease  and  ra- 
pidity, often  while  going  at  full  speed.  I  was  struck  by 
the  sinuous,  mazy  character  of  our  course,  even  where  the 
ground  was  level,  and  could  only  account  for  it  by  the  sup- 
position that  the  first  track  over  the  light  snow  had  followed 
the  smoothest  and  firmest  ridges  of  the  marshes.  Our  pro- 
gress was  now  slow  and  toilsome,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
my  deer  gave  up  entirely.  Long  Isaac,  seeing  that  a  change 
must  be  made,  finally  decided  to  give  me  a  wild,  powerful 
animal,  which  he  had  not  yet  ventured  to  intrust  to  either 
of  us. 

The  deer  was  harnessed  to  my  pulk,  the  rein  carefully 
secured  around  my  wrist,  and  Long  Isaac  let  go  his  hold 
A  wicked  toss  of  the  antlers  and  a  prodigious  jump  followed, 
ind  the  animal  rushed  full  tilt  upon  Braisted,  who  was  next 
Before  me,  striking  him  violently  upon  the  back.  The 
more  I  endeavored  to  rein  him  in,  the  more  he  plunged  and 


Jig  NORTHERN   TRAVEL 

tore,  now  dashing  against  the  led  deer,  n  )w  hurling  rne  ova 
the  baggage  pulk,  and  now  leaping  off  the  track  into  bot- 
tomless beds  of  loose  snow.  Long  Isaac  at  last  shouted  to  m< 
to  go  ahead  and  follow  Eric,  who  was  about  half  a  mile  in 
advance.  A  few  furious  plunges  carried  me  past  our  little 
caravan,  with  my  pulk  full  of  snow,  and  my  face  likewise 
Now.  lowering  his  neck  and  thrusting  out  his  head,  with 
open  mouth  and  glaring  eyes,  the  deer  set  off  at  the  top  of 
his  speed. 

Away  I  went,  like  a  lance  shot  out  from  the  aurora: 
armoury  ;  the  pulk  slid  over  the  snow  with  the  swiftness  of 
a  fish  through  the  water ;  a  torrent  of  snow-spray  poured 
into  my  lap  and  showered  against  my  face,  until  1  was  com- 
pletely blinded.  Eric  was  overtaken  so  quickly  that  he  had 
no  time  to  give  me  the  track,  and  as  I  was  not  in  a  condi- 
tion to  see  or  hear  anything,  the  deer,  with  the  stupidity  of 
his  race,  sprang  directly  upon  him,  trampled  him  down,  and 
dragged  me  and  my  pulk  over  him.  We  came  to  a  stand 
in  the  deep  snow,  while  Eric  shook  himself  and  started 
again.  My  deer  now  turned  and  made  for  the  caravan,  but 
I  succeeded  in  pulling  his  head  around,  when  he  charged  a 
second  time  upon  Eric,  who  threw  himself  out  of  his  pulk 
to  escape.  My  strength  was  fast  giving  way,  when  we  came 
to  a  ridge  of  deep,  loose  snow,  in  which  the  animals  sank 
above  their  bellies,  and  up  which  they  could  hardly  drag  us, 
My  deer  was  so  exhausted  when  we  reached  the  top,  that  1 
lad  no  further  difficulty  in  controlling  him. 

Before  us  stretched  a  trackless  plain,  bounded  by  a  low 
mountain  ridge.  Eric  set  off  at  a  fast  trot,  winding  hither 
Mid  thither,  as  1  is  deer  followed  the  invisible  path.  I  kepi 


A   REINDEER   JOURNEY  ACROSS  THE   PLAINS  1 17 

jlose  behind  him,  white  as  a  Polar  bear,  but  glowing  like  a 
volcano  under  my  fure.  The  temperature  was  10C  belo* 
rero.  and  I  could  have  wished  it  ten  degrees  colder.  My 
deer,  although  his  first  savage  strength  was  spent,  was  stil] 
full  of  spirit,  and  I  began  to  enjoy  this  mode  of  travel 
We  soon  entered  the  hills,  which  were  covered  with  thickets 
of  frozen  birch,  with  here  and  there  a  tall  Scotch  fir,  com- 
pletely robed  in  snow.  The  sun,  which  had  showed  about 
half  his  disc  at  noon,  was  now  dipping  under  the  horizon, 
and  a  pure  orange  glow  lighted  up  the  dazzling  masses  of  the 
crystal  woods.  All  was  silver-clear,  far  and  near,  shining, 
as  if  by  its  own  light,  with  an  indescribable  radiance.  We 
had  struck  upon  a  well-beaten  track  on  entering  the  hills, 
and  flexv  swiftly  along  through  this  silent  splendour,  this 
jewelled  solitude,  under  the  crimson  and  violet  mode  of  the 
sky.  Here  was  true  Northern  romance;  here  was  poetry 
beyond  all  the  Sagas  and  Eddas  that  ever  were  written. 

We  passed  three  Lapps,  with  heavy  hay-sleds,  drawn  by  a 
reindeer  apiece,  and  after  a  time  issued  from  the  woods  upon 
a  range  of  hills  entirely  bare  and  white.  Before  us  was 
the  miserable  hamlet  of  Lippajftrvi,  on  the  western  side  of 
the  barren  mountain  of  Lippivara,  which  is  the  highest  in 
this  part  of  Lapland,  having  an  altitude  of  1900  feet 
above  the  sea.  I  have  rarely  seen  anything  quite  so  bleak 
and  God-forsaken  as  this  village.  A  few  low  black  huts, 
in  a  desert  of  snow — that  was  all.  We  drove  up  to  a  sorl 
of  station-house,  where  an  old,  white-headed  Finn  received 
me  kindly,  beat  the  snow  off  my  poesk  with  a  birch  broom, 
and  hung  my  boa  near  the  fire  to  dry.  There  was  a  wild, 

fterce-lookins:  Lipp  in  the  room,  who  spoke  some  Norwegian, 
6* 


118  NOttTHKKX    TKAVEL. 

and  at  once  asked  who  and  what  I  was.  His  Lead  was  cov 
ercd  with  a  mop  of  bright  brown  hair,  his  eyes  were  dark 
blue  and  gleamed  like  polished  steel,  and  the  flushed  crim- 
son of  lis  face  was  set  off  by  the  strong  bristles  of  a  beard 
of  three  weeks  growth.  There  was  something  savage  and 
ferocious  in  his  air,  as  he  sat  with  his  clenched  fists  planted 
upon  his  knees,  and  a  heavy  knife  in  a  wooden  scabbard 
hanging  from  his  belt.  When  our  caravan  arrived  I  trans- 
ferred him  to  my  sketch-book.  He  gave  me  his  name  as 
Ole  Olsen  Thore,  and  I  found  he  was  a  character  well 
known  throughout  the  country. 

'Long  Isaac  proposed  waiting  until  midnight,  for  moon 
rise,  as  it  was  already  dark,  and  there  was  no  track  beyouo 
Lippajarvi.  This  seemed  prudent,  and  we  therefore,  with 
the  old  woman's  help,  set  about  boiling  our  meat,  thawing 
bread,  and  making  coffee.  It  was  necessary  to  eat  even 
beyond  what  appetite  demanded,  on  account  of  the  long  dis- 
tances between  the  stations.  Drowsiness  followed  repletion, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  and  they  gave  us  a  bed  of  skins  in 
an  inner-room.  Here,  however,  some  other  members  of  the 
family  were  gathered  around  the  fire,  and  kept  up  an  inces- 
gant  chattering,  while  a  young  married  couple,  who  lay  in 
3ne  corner,  bestowed  their  endearments  on  each  other,  so  that 
«re  had  but  little  benefit  of  our  rest.  At  midnight  all  was 
ready,  and  we  set  out.  Long  Isaac  had  engaged  a  guide 
and  procured  fresh  deer  in  place  of  those  which  were  fa- 
tigued. There  was  a  thick  fog,  which  the  moon  scarcely 
brightened,  but  the  temperature  had  risen  to  zero,  and  was 
as  mild  as  a  May  morning.  For  the  first  time  in  many 
days  our  beards  did  uot  freeze. 


A    REINDEER   JOURNL'Y   ACROSS   LAPLAND.  \\$ 

We  pursued  our  way  in  complete  silence.  Our  httle  car- 
avan, in  single  file,  presented  a  strange,  shadowy,  mysterious 
appearance  as  it  followed  the  winding  path,  dimly  seen 
through  the  mist,  first  on  this  side  and  then  on  that ;  not  a 
Bound  being  heard,  except  the  crunching  of  one's  own  pulk 
over  the  snow.  My  reindeer  and  myself  seemed  to  be  the 
only  living  things,  and  we  were  pursuing  the  phantoms  oi 
other  travellers  and  other  deer,  who  had  long  ago  perished 
in  the  wilderness.  It  was  impossible  to  see  more  than  a 
hundred  yards ;  some  short,  stunted  birches,  in  their  spec- 
tral coating  of  snow,  grew  along  the  low  ridges  of  the 
deep,  loose  snow,  which  separated  the  marshes,  but  nothing 
else  interrupted  the  monotony  of  the  endless  grey  ocean 
through  which  we  went  floundering,  apparently  at  hap-haz- 
ard.  How  our  guides  found  the  way  was  beyond  my  com- 
prehension, for  I  could  discover  no  distinguishable  land- 
marks. After  two  hours  or  more  we  struck  upon  a  cluster 
of  huts  called  Palajarvi,  seven  miles  from  Lippaj&rvi,  which 
proved  that  we  were  on  the  right  track. 

The  fog  now  became  thicker  than  ever.  We  were  upon 
the  water-shed  between  the  Bothnian  Gulf  and  the  North- 
ern Ocean,  about  1400  feet  above  the  sea.  The  birches  be- 
came mere  shrubs,  dotting  the  low  mounds  which  here  and 
there  arose  out  of  the  ocean  of  snow.  The  pulks  all  ran 
in  the  same  track  and  made  a  single  furrow,  so  that  our 
gunwales  were  generally  below  the  sea-level.  The  snow 
was  packed  so  tight,  however,  that  we  rarely  shipped  any 
Two  hours  passed,  and  I  was  at  length  roused  from  a  half- 
Bleep  by  the  evidence  of  our  having  lost  the  way.  Long 
Isaac  and  the  guide  stopped  and  consulted  every  few  mi 


J20  NORTHERN   TRAVEL 

nutes.  striking  sometimes  in  one  direction  and  sometimes 
in  another,  but  without  any  result.  We  ran  over  ridges  oi 
heavy,  hard  tussocks,  blown  bare  of  snow,  which  pitched  our 
pulks  right  and  left,  just  as  I  have  bumped  over  the  coral 
reefs  of  Loo-Choo  in  a  ship's  cutter.  Then  followed  deep 
beds  of  snow-drifts,  which  tasked  the  utmost  strength  ol 
our  deer,  low  birch  thickets  and  hard  ridges  again,  over 
which  we  plunged  in  the  wildest  way  possible. 

After  wandering  about  for  a  considerable  time,  we  sudden- 
ly heard  the  barking  of  a  dog  at  some  distance  on  our  left. 
Following  the  welcome  sound,  we  reached  a  scrubby  ridge, 
where  we  were  saluted  with  a  whole  chorus  of  dogs,  and 
soon  saw  the  dark  cone  of  a  Lapp  tent.  Long  Isaac  arous- 
ed the  inmates,  and  the  shrill  cry  of  a  baby  proclaimed  that 
there  was  life  and  love,  °ven  here.  Presently  a  clumsy 
form,  enveloped  in  skins,  waddled  out  and  entered  into  con- 
versation with  our  men.  I  proposed  at  once  to  engage  a 
Lapp  to  guide  us  as  far  as  Eitajarvi,  which  they  informed 
us  was  two  Norwegian  (fourteen  English)  miles  further.  The 
man  agreed,  but  must  first  go  off  to  the  woods  for  his  deer, 
which  would  detain  us  two  hours.  He  put  on  his  snow- 
skates  and  started,  and  I  set  about  turning  the  delay  to  prc- 
fit  by  making  acquaintance  with  the  inmates  of  the  tents. 
We  had  now  reached  the  middle  of  the  village ;  the  lean 
wolfish  dogs  were  yelling  on  all  sides,  and  the  people  began 
to  bestir  themselves.  Streams  of  sparks  issued  from  the 
open  tops  of  the  tents,  and  very  soon  we  stood  as  if  in  the 
midst  of  a  group  of  volcanic  cones. 

The  Lapj'S  readily  gave  us  permission  to  enter.  We 
lifted  the  hangi  \g  door  of  reindeer  hide,  crept  in.  stumbling 


A  RKIXOKKR  JOURNEY  ACROSS  LAPLAND.  1'^] 

contused  mixture  of  dogs  and  deer-skins,  until  w« 
found  rooLi  to  sit  down  Two  middle-aged  women,  dressed 
in  poesks.  like  the  men,  were  kindling  a  fire  between  some 
large  stones  in  the  centre,  but  the  air  inside  was  still  as  cold 
as  outside.  The  damp  birch  sticks  gave  out  a  thick  smoke, 
which  almost  stifled  us,  and  for  half  an  hour  we  could 
scarcely  see  or  breathe.  The  women  did  not  appear  to  be 
incommoded  in  the  least,  but  I  noticed  that  their  eyes  were 
considerably  inflamed.  After  a  time  our  company  was 
increased  by  the  arrival  of  two  stout,  ruddy  girls  of  about 
seventeen,  and  a  child  of  two  years  old,  which  already  wore 
a  complete  reindeer  costume.  They  were  all  very  friendly 
and  hospitable  in  their  demeanour  towards  us,  for  conversa 
tion  was  scarcely  possible.  The  interior  of  the  tent  wa.. 
hung  with  choice  bits  of  deer's  hide,  from  the  inside  of  the 
flanks  and  shoulders,  designed,  apparently,  for  mittens. 
Long  Isaac  at  once  commenced  bargaining  for  some  of  thenj, 
which  he  finally  purchased.  The  money  was  deposited  in 
a  rather  heavy  bag  of  coin,  which  one  of  the  women  drew 
forth  from  under  a  pile  of  skins.  Our  caps  and  Russian 
boots  excited  their  curiosity,  and  they  examined  them  with 
the  greatest  n  inuteness. 

These  women  were  neither  remarkably  small  nor  remark- 
ably ugly,  as  the  Lapps  are  generally  represented.  The 
ground-tone  of  their  complexion  was  rather  tawny,  to  be 
iuro.  but  there  was  a  "lowing  red  on  their  cheeks,  and  their 
eyes  were  a  dark  bluish-grey.  Their  voices  were  agreeable, 
and  the  language  (a  branch  of  the  Finnish)  had  none  of  that 
barbaric  harshness  common  to  the  tongues  of  nomadic  tribes 
These  favorable  features,  nevertheless,  were  far  from  recoD 


122  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

oiling  me  to  the  idea  of  a  trial  of  Lapp  life.  When  I  saw 
the  filth,  the  poverty,  and  discomfort  in  which  they  lived,  ] 
decided  that  the  present  experience  was  all-sufficient 
Roasting  on  one  side  and  freezing  on  the  other,  with  smart- 
ing eyes  and  asphyxiated  lungs,  1  soon  forgot  whatever  there 
was  of  the  picturesque  in  my  situation,  and  thought  only  of 
the  return  of  our  Lapp  guide.  The  women  at  last  cleared 
away  several  dogs,  and  made  room  for  us  to  lie  down — a 
more  tolerable  position,  in  our  case ;  though  how  a  whole 
family,  with  innumerable  dogs,  stow  themselves  in  the  com- 
pass of  a  circle  eight  feet  in  diameter,  still  remains  a  mys- 
tery. 

The  Lapp  returned  with  his  reindeer  within  the  allotted 
time,  and  we  took  our  leave  of  the  encampment.  A  strong 
south  wind  had  arisen,  but  did  not  dissipate  the  fo£,  and  for 
two  hours  we  had  a  renewal  of  our  past  experiences,  in 
thumping  over  hard  ridges  and  ploughing  through  seas  of 
snow.  Our  track  was  singularly  devious,  sometimes  doub- 
ling directly  back  upon  itself  without  any  apparent  cause. 
At  last,  when  a  faint  presentiment  of  dawn  began  to  glimmer 
through  the  fog,  the  Lapp  halted  and  announced  that  he 
had  lost  the  way.  Bidding  us  remain  where  we  were,  he 
Btruck  off  into  the  snow  and  was  soon  lost  to  sight.  Scarcely 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  had  elapsed,  however,  before  we  heard 
his  cries  at  a  considerable  distance.  Following,  as  we  best 
could,  across  a  plain  nearly  a  mile  in  diameter,  we  found 
him  at  last  in  a  narrow  dell  between  two  hills.  The  ground 
now  sloped  rapidly  northward,  and  I  saw  that  we  had  crossed 
the  water-shed,  and  that  the  plain  behind  us  must  br  the 
lake  Jedeckejaure,  which,  according  to  Von  Buch,  is  137C 
feet  above  the  sea. 


A   REINDEER   JOURNEV    ACROSS    LAPLAND.  128 

On  emerging  from  the  dell  we  found  a  gentle  slope  before 
us,  covered  with  hard  ice,  down  which  our  pulks  flew  likt 
the  wind.  This  brought  us  to  another  lake,  followed  by  a 
similar  slope,  and  so  we  descended  the  icy  terraces,  until,  in 
a  little  more  than  an  hour,  some  covered  haystacks  gave  evi 
dence  of  human  habitation,  and  we  drew  up  at  the  huts  of 
Eitajftivi,  in  Norway.  An  old  man,  who  had  been  watching 
our  approach,  immediately  climbed  upon  the  roof  and  re- 
moved a  board  from  the  chimney,  after  which  he  ushered  us 
into  a  bare,  cold  room,  and  kindled  a  roaring  fire  on  the 
hearth.  Anton  unpacked  our  provisions,  and  our  hunger 
was  so  desperate,  after  fasting  for  twenty  hours,  that  we 
could  scarcely  wait  for  the  bread  to  thaw  and  the  coffee  to 
boil.  We  set  out  again  at  noon,  down  the  frozen  bed  of  a 
stream  which  drains  the  lakes,  but  had  not  proceeded  far 
before  both  deers  and  pulks  began  to  break  through  the  ice, 
probably  on  account  of  springs  under  it.  After  being 
almost  swamped,  we  managed  to  get  up  the  steep  snow-bank 
ind  took  to  the  plain  again,  making  our  own  road  over 
ridge  and  through  hollow.  The  caravan  was  soon  stopped, 
that  the  pulks  might  be  turned  bottom  upwards  and  the  ice 
scraped  off,  which,  like  the  barnacles  on  a  ship's  hull, 
impeded  their  progress  through  the  snow.  The  broad  plain 
we  were  traversing  stretched  away  to  the  north  without  a 
break  or  spot  of  color  to  relieve  its  ghastly  whiteness ;  but 
toward  the  south-west,  where  the  sunset  of  an  unrisen  sun 
spread  its  roseate  glow  through  the  mist,  arose  some  low 
mounds,  covered  with  dropping  birches,  which  shone  against 
the  soft,  mellow  splendor,  like  sprays  of  silver  embroidered 
MI  rose-colored  satin. 


124  NORTHI:KX   THAVEL. 

Our  course,  for  about  fifteen  miles,  lay  alternately  upon 
the  stream  (where  the  ice  was  sufficiently  strong)  and  the 
wild  plain.  Two  or  three  Lapp  tents  on  the  bank  exhibited 
the  usual  amount  of  children  and  dogs,  but  we  did  not  think 
it  worth  while  to  extend  the  circle  of  our  acquaintance  in 
that  direction.  At  five  o'clock,  after  it  had  long  been  dark, 
we  reached  half  a  dozen  huts  called  Siepe,  two  Norwegian 
miles  from  Kautokeino.  Long  Isaac  wished  to  stop  her* 
for  the  night,  but  we  resolutely  set  ourselves  against  him 
The  principal  hut  was  filthy,  crowded  with  Lapps,  and  filled 
with  a  disagreeable  smell  from  the  warm,  wet  poesks  hang- 
ing on  the  rafters.  In  one  corner  lay  the  carcases  of  two 
deer-calves  which  had  been  killed  by  wolves.  A  long  bench, 
a  table,  and  a  rude  frame  covered  with  deerskins,  and  serv- 
ing as  a  bed,  comprised  all  the  furniture.  The  usual  buck- 
ets of  sour  milk,  with  wooden  ladles,  stood  by  the  door.  No 
one  appeared  to  have  any  particular  occupation,  if  we  ex- 
cept the  host's  wife,  who  was  engaged  with  an  infant  in 
reindeer  breeches.  We  smoked  and  deliberated  while  the 
deers  ate  their  balls  of  moss,  and  the  result  was,  that  a  stout 
yellow-haired  Lapp  youngster  was  engaged  to  pilot  us  to 
Kautokeino. 

Siepe  stands  on  a  steep  bank,  down  which  our  track  led 
to  the  stream  again.  As  the  caravan  set  off,  my  deer,  which 
had  behaved  very  well  through  the  day,  suddenly  became 
fractious,  sprang  off  the  track,  whirled  himself  around 
on  his  hind  legs,  as  if  on  a  pivot,  and  turned  the  pulk 
completely  over,  burying  me  in  the  snow.  Now.  I  had 
come  from  Muoniovara,  more  than  a  hundred  miles,  without 
}eing  once  overturned,  and  was  ambitious  to  make  the  whole 


\   RRINDRER    fOTTRNRY   ACROSS   LAPLAND.  128 

journey  with  equal  success.  I  therefore  picked  myself  up 
highly  disconcerted,  and  started  afresh.  The  very  same 
thing  happened  a  second  and  a  third  time,  and  I  don't  think 
I  shall  be  considered  unreasonable  for  becoming  furiously 
angry.  I  should  certainly  have  committed  cervicide  had 
any  weapon  been  at  hand.  I  seized  the  animal  by  the  horns, 
shook,  cuffed,  and  kicked  him,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  Long 
Isaac,  who  was  passing  in  his  pulk,  made  some  remark, 
which  Anton,  with  all  the  gravity  and  conscientiousness  of 
his  new  position  of  interpreter,  immediately  translated, 

"  Long  Isaac  says,"  he  shouted,  "  that  the  deer  will  go 
well  enough,  if  you  knew  how  to  drive  him."  "  Long  Isaac 
may  go  to  the  devil !"  was,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  my  profane 
reply,  which  Anton  at  once  translated  to  him. 

Seating  myself  in  the  pulk  again,  I  gave  The  deer  the  rein, 
and  for  a  time  kept  him  to  the  top  of  his  speed,  following 
the  Lapp,  who  drove  rapidly  down  the  windings  of  the 
stream.  It  was  quite  dark,  but  our  road  was  now  somewhat 
broken,  and  for  three  hours  our  caravan  swiftly  and  silently 
sped  on  its  way.  Then,  some  scattered  lights  appeared  in 
the  distance ;  our  tired  deers  leaped  forward  with  freshen 
spirit,  and  soon  brought  us  to  the  low  wooden  huts  of  Kau- 
tokeino.  We  had  travelled  upwards  of  sixty  miles  sinc€ 
leaving  Lippajiirvi,  breaking  our  owi»  road  through  deep 
snow  for  a  great  part  of  the  way.  During  tlas  time  om 
deers  had  not  been  changed.  I  cannoi  but  respect  the  pro- 
fiting animals  after  such  a  toat. 


J2<J  SORTHERX  TRAVEL 


CHAPTER   XI  . 

KAUTOKEINO. — A  DAY  WITHOUT  A  SUN. 

WHILE  in  Dresden,  my  friend  Ziegler  had  transferred  tc 
me  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Herr  Berger,  a  merchant  oi 
Hammerfest,  to  his  housekeeper  in  Kautokeino.  Such  a 
transfer  might  be  considered  a  great  stretch  of  etiquette  in 
those  enlightened  regions  of  the  world  where  hospitality  re- 
quires certificates  of  character  ;  but,  in  a  benighted  country 
like  Lapland,  there  was  no  danger  of  very  fine  distinctions 
being  drawn,  and  Ziegler  judged  that  the  house  which  was 
to  have  been  placed  at  his  disposal  had  he  madetlie  journey, 
would  as  readily  open  its  doors  to  me.  At  Muoniovara,  I 
learned  that  Berger  himself  was  now  in  Kautokeino,  so  that 
I  needed  only  to  present  him  with  his  own  letter.  We  ar- 
rived so  late,  however,  that  I  directed  Long  Isaac  to  take  us 
to  the  inn  until  morning.  He  seemed  reluctant  to  do  this,  and 
I  could  not  fathom  the  reason  of  his  hesitation,  until  I  had 
entered  the  hovel  to  which  we  were  conducted.  A  single 
room,  filled  with  smoke  from  a  fire  of  damp  birch  sticks, 
was  crammed  with  Lapps  of  all  sizes,  and  of  both  sexes. 
There  was  scarcely  room  to  spread  a  deerskin  on  the  floor 
the  smell  exhaled  from  their  greasy  garments  and 


KMT  .IKF.IXO.--A    I)  VY    WITHOUT    A    SUN.  127 

their  unwashed  bodies  was  absolutely  stifling.  I  have  tra- 
velled too  much  to  be  particularly  nice  in  my  choice  oi 
lodgings,  but  in  this  instance  I  instantly  retreated,  deter- 
mined to  lie  on  the  snow,  under  my  overturned  pulk,  rathei 
than  pass  the  night  among  such  bed-fellows. 

We  drove  on  for  a  short  distance,  and  drew  up  before  a 
large,  substantial  log -house,  which  Long  Isaac  informed  me 
was  the  residence  of  the  Ldnsmait,  or  magistrate  of  the  dis- 
trict. I  knocked  at  the  door,  and  inquired  of  the  Norwe- 
gian servant  girl  who  opened  it,  where  Herr  Berger  lived. 
Presently  appeared  a  stout,  ruddy  gentleman — no  less  than 
Herr  Berger  himself — who  addressed  me  in  fluent  English. 
A  few  words  sufficed  to  explain  everything,  and  in  ten  mi- 
nutes our  effects  were  deposited  in  the  guest's  room  of  the 
Lansman's  house,  and  ourselves,  stripped  of  our  Polar  hides, 
were  seated  on  a  sofa,  in  a  warm,  carpeted  room,  with  a 
bountiful  supper-table  before  us.  Blessed  be  civilization  ! 
was  my  inward  ejaculation.  Blessed  be  that  yearning  for 
comfort  in  Man,  which  has  led  to  the  invention  of  beds,  of 
sofas,  and  easy  chairs :  which  has  suggested  cleanliness  of 
body  and  of  habitation,  and  which  has  developed  the  noble 
art  of  cooking  !  The  dreary  and  perilous  wastes  over  which 
we  had  passed  were  forgotten.  With  hearts  warmed  in  both 
senses,  and  stomachs  which  reacted  gratefully  upon  oui 
hearts,  we  sank  that  night  into  a  paradise  of  snowy  linen 
which  sent  a  consciousness  of  pleasure  even  into  the  obli 
rion  of  sleep. 

The  Lansman,  Heir  Lie,  a  tall  handsome  man  of  twenty 
thr^e,  was  a  native  of  Altengaard,  and  spoke  tolerable  En- 
glish. With  him  and  Herr  Berger,  we  fouud  a  third  per- 


l28  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

son.  a  theological  student,  stationed  at  Kautokeinc  to  lea*  A 
tiie  Lapp  tongue.  Pastor  Hvoslef,  the  clergyman,  was  th« 
only  other  Norwegian  resident.  The  village,  separated 
from  the  Northern  Ocean,  by  the  barren,  uninhabited  ranges 
of  the  Kiolen  Mountains,  and  from  the  Finnish  settlements 
on  the  Muonio  by  the  swampy  table-lands  we  had  traversed, 
is  one  of  the  wildest  and  most  forlorn  places  in  all  Lapland. 
Occupying,  as  it  does,  the  centre  of  a  large  district,  over 
which  the  Lapps  range  with  their  reindeer  herds  during 
the  summer,  it  is  nevertheless  'a  place  of  some  importance, 
both  for  trade  and  for  the  education,  organization,  and  pro- 
per control  of  the  barely -reclaimed  inhabitants.  A  church 
was  first  built  here  by  Charles  XI.  of  Sweden,  in  1660,  al- 
though, in  the  course  of  subsequent  boundary  adjustments, 
the  district  was  made  over  to  Norway.  Half  a  century 
afterwards,  some  families  of  Finns  settled  here ;  but  they 
appear  to  have  gradually  mixed  with  the  Lapps,  so  that 
there  is  little  of  the  pure  blood  of  either  race  to  be  found 
at  present.  I  should  here  remark  that  throughout  Norwe- 
gian Lapland  the  Lapps  are  universally  called  Finns,  and 
the  Finns,  Qu&tis.  As  the  change  of  names,  however, 
might  occasion  some  confusion,  I  shall  adhere  to  the  more 
correct  Swedish  manner  of  designating  them,  which  I  have 
used  hitherto. 

Kautokeino  is  situated  in  a  shallow  valley,  or  rather  ba- 
tin,  opening  towards  the  north-east,  whither  its  river  flows 
to  join  the  Alten.  Although  only  835  feet  above  the  sea, 
»nd  consequently  below  the  limits  of  the  birch  and  the  fir 
;n  this  latitude,  the  country  has  been  stripped  entirely  bare 
for  miles  around,  and  nothing  but  the  scattering  groups  of 


KAUTOKEINO. — A   DAV    WITHOUT  A   SUN.  \%fy 

low,  dark  huts,  breaks  the  snowy  monotony.  It  s  with 
great  Jifficulty  that  vegetables  of  any  kind  can  be  raised 
Potatoes  have  once  or  twice  been  made  to  yield  eight-fold, 
but  they  are  generally  killed  by  the  early  autumn  frosts  be- 
fore maturity.  On  the  southern  bank  of  the  river,  the 
ground  remains  frozen  the  whole  year  round,  at  a  depth  of 
only  nine  feet.  The  country  furnishes  nothing  except  rein- 
deer meat,  milk,  and  cheese.  Grain,  and  other  supplies  o* 
all  kinds,  must  be  hauled  up  from  the  Alten  Fiord,  a  dis- 
tance of  112  miles.  The  carriage  is  usually  performed  in 
winter,  when,  of  course,  everything  reaches  its  destination 
in  a  frozen  state.  The  potatoes  are  as  hard  as  quartz  peb- 
bles, sugar  and  salt  become  stony  masses,  and  even  wine  as- 
Bumes  a  solid  form.  In  this  state  they  are  kept  until  want- 
ed for  use,  rapidly  thawed,  and  immediately  consumed, 
whereby  their  flavour  is  but  little  impaired.  The  potatoes, 
cabbage,  and  preserved  berries  on  the  Lansman's  table  were 
almost  as  fresh  as  if  they  had  never  been  frozen. 

Formerly,  the  place  was  almost  entirely  deserted  during; 
the  summer  months,  and  the  resident  missionary  and  Lftns- 
man  returned  to  Alten  until  the  Lapps  came  back  to  their 
winter  huts  ;  but,  for  some  years  past,  the  stationary  popu- 
lation has  increased,  and  the  church  is  kept  open  the  whole 
year.  Winter,  however,  is  the  season  when  the  Lapps  are 
found  at  home,  and  when  their  life  and  habits  are  most  char- 
acteristic and  interesting.  The  population  of  Kautokeino 
Is  then,  perhaps,  about  800;  in  summer  it  is  scarcely  one- 
tenth  of  this  number.  Many  of  the  families  —  especially 
those  of  mixed  Finnish  blood — live  in  wooden  huts,  witl 
the  luxury  of  a  fireplace  and  chimney,  and  a  window  or  two 


130  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

but  the  greater  part  of  them  burrow  in  low  habitations  Oj 
earth,  which  resemble  large  mole  hills  raised  in  the  crust  oi 
the  soil.  Half  snowed  over  and  blended  with  the  natural 
inequalities  of  the  earth,  one  would  never  imagine,  but  for 
the  smoke  here  and  there  issuing  from  holes,  that  human 
beings  existed  below.  On  both  sides  of  the  stream  are  rows 
of  storehouses,  v^herein  the  Lapps  deposit  their  supplies  and 
household  articles  during  their  summer  wanderings.  These 
structures  are  raised  upon  birch  posts,  each  capped  with  a 
smooth,  horizontal  board,  in  order  to  prevent  the  rats  and 
mice  from  effecting  an  entrance.  The  church  is  built  upon 
a  slight  eminence  to  the  south,  with  its  low  red  belfry  stand- 
ing apart,  as  in  Sweden,  in  a  small  grove  of  birches,  which 
have  been  spared  for  a  summer  ornament  to  the  sanctuary. 
We  awoke  at  eight  o'clock  to  find  a  clear  twilight  and  a 
cold  of  10°  below  zero.  Our  stay  at  Muoniovara  had  given 
the  sun  time  to  increase  his  altitude  somewhat,  and  I  had 
some  doubts  whether  we  should  succeed  in  beholding  a  day 
of  the  Polar  winter.  The  Lansman,  however,  encouraged  ua 
by  the  assurance  that  the  sun  had  not  yet  risen  upon  his  resi- 
dence, though  nearly  six  weeks  had  elapsed  since  his  disap- 
pearance, but  that  his  return  was  now  looked  for  every  day, 
since  he  had  already  begun  to  shine  upon  the  northern  hills. 
By  ten  o'clock  it  was  light  enough  to  read ;  the  southern 
sky  was  a  broad  sea  of  golden  orange,  dotted  with  a  few 
crimson  cloud-islands,  and  we  set  ourselves  to  watch  with 
lome  anxiety  the  gradual  approach  of  the  exiled  god.  Bui 
for  this  circumstance,  and  two  other  drawbacks.  I  should 
have  gone  to  church  to  witness  the  Lapps  at  their  religious 
exercises.  Pastor  Hvoslef  was  ill,  and  the  service  consisted 


XAUTOKBINO. — A  DAY  WITHOUT  A  SUN.          13] 

only  of  the  reading  of  some  prayers  by  the  Lapp  schoolmas- 
ter ;  added  to  which,  the  church  is  never  wanned,  even  in 
the  coldest  days  of  winter.  One  cause  of  this  may,  perhaps 
be  the  dread  of  an  accidental  conflagration ;  but  the  main 
reason  is,  the  inconvenience  which  would  arise  from  th 
thawing  out  of  so  many  antiquated  reindeer  garments,  and 
the  effluvia  given  out  by  the  warmed  bodies- within  them. 
Consequently,  the  temperature  inside  the  church  is  about 
the  same  as  outside,  and  the  frozen  moisture  of  the  worship- 
pers' breath  forms  a  frosty  cloud  so  dense  as  sometimes  to 
hide  the  clergyman  from  the  view  of  his  congregation.  Pas- 
tor Hvoslef  informed  me  that  he  had  frequently  preached  in 
a  temperature  of  35°  below  zero.  "  At  such  times,"  said  he, 
"  the  very  words  seem  to  freeze  as  they  issue  from  my  lips, 
and  fall  upon  the  heads  of  my  hearers  like  a  shower  of  snow." 
"But,"  I  ventured  to  remark,  "our  souls  are  controlled  to 
such  a  degree  by  the  condition  of  our  bodies,  that  I  should 
doubt  whether  any  true  devotional  spirit  could  exist  at  such 
a  time.  Might  not  even  religion  itself  be  frozen  ?"  "  Yes/' 
he  answered,  "  there  is  no  doubt  that  all  the  better  feelings 
either  disappear,  or  become  very  faint,  when  the  mercury 
begins  to  freeze."  The  pastor  himself  was  at  that  time  suf- 
fering the  penalty  of  indulging  a  spirit  of  reverence  which 
for  a  long  time  led  him  to  officiate  with  uncovered  head. 

The  sky  increased  in  brightness  as  we  watched.  The 
grange  flushed  into  rose,  and  the  pale  white  hills  looked 
even  more  ghastly  against  the  bar  of  glowing  carmine  which 
fringed  the  horizon.  A  few  long  purple  streaks  of  cloud 
nnng  over  the  sun's  place,  and  higher  up  in  the  vault 
floated  some  loose  masses,  tinged  with  fiery  crimson  on  theif 


182  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

lower  edges.  About  half-past  eleven,  a  penc'l  of  bright  red 
light  shot  up — a  signal  which  the  sun  uplifted  to  herald 
his  coming.  As  it  slowly  moved  westward  along  the  hilla 
increasing  in  height  and  brilliancy  until  it  became  a  long1 
tongue  of  flame,  playing  against  the  streaks  of  cloud  we 
were  apprehensive  that  the  near  disc  would  rise  to  view 
Wlien  the  Lansman's  clock  pointed  to  twelve,  its  base  had 
become  so  bright  as  to  shine  almost  like  the  sun  itself;  but 
after  a  few  breathless  moments  the  unwelcome  glow  began 
to  fade.  We  took  its  bearing  with  a  compass,  and  after 
making  allowance  for  the  variation  (which  is  here  very 
slight)  were  convinced  that  it  was  really  past  meridian,  and 
the  radiance,  which  was  that  of  morning  a  few  minutes  be- 
fore, belonged  to  the  splendours  of  evening  now.  The 
colours  of  the  firmament  began  to  change  in  reverse  order, 
and  the  dawn,  which  had  almost  ripened  to  sunrise,  now 
withered  away  to  night  without  a  sunset.  We  had  at  last 
seen  a  day  without  a  sun. 

The  snowy  hills  to  the  north,  it  is  true,  were  tinged  with 
a  flood  of  rosy  flame,  and  the  very  next  day  would  probably 
bring  down  the  tide- mark  of  sunshine  to  the  tops  of  the 
houses.  One  day,  however,  was  enough  to  satisfy  me.  You, 
my  heroic  friend*,  may  paint  with  true  pencil,  and  still 
truer  pen,  the  dreary  solemnity  of  the  long  Arctic  night: 
but,  greatly  as  I  enjoy  your  incomparable  pictures,  much  aa 

*  This  was  written  in  Lapland ;  and  at  the  same  time  my  friend  Dr 
Elista  Kent  Kane,  of  immortal  memory,  lay  upon  his  death-bed,  in 
Havana.  I  retain  the  words,  which  I  then  supposed  would  meet  hit 
bye,  that  I  may  add  my  own  tribute  of  sonow'for  the  untimely  deatu  oi 
one  of  the  truest,  bravest,  and  noblest-hearted  men  I  ever  knew. 


KAUTOKEINO.— A   DAY  WITHOUT  A  SUN.  133 

I  honour  your  courage  and  your  endurance,  yon  shall  never 
trmpt  me  to  share  in  the  experience.  The  South  is  a  cup 
which  one  may  drink  to  inebriation  ;  but  one  taste  from  the 
icy  goblet  of  the  North  is  enough  to  allay  curiosity  and 
qncT«ch  all  further  desire.  Yet  the  contrast  between  these 
two  extremes  came  home  to  me  vividly  but  once  during  tl:is 
journey.  A  traveller's  mind  must  never  stray  too  far  from 
the  things  about  him,  and  long  habit  has  enabled  me  to 
throw  myself  entirely  into  the  conditions  and  circumstances 
of  each  separate  phase  of  my  wandering  life,  thereby  preserv- 
ing distinct  the  sensations  and  experiences  of  each,  and  pre- 
venting aU  later  confusion  in  the  memory.  But  one  day, 
at  Muoniovara,  as  I  sat  before  the  fire  in  the  afternoon 
darkness,  there  flashed  across  my  mind  a  vision  of  cloudless 
Egypt — palm-trees  rustling  in  the  hot  wind,  yellow  moun- 
tain-walls rising  beyond  the  emerald  plain  of  the  Nile,  the 
white  pencils  of  minarets  in  the  distance,  the  creamy  odour 
of  bean-blossoms  in  the  air — a  world  of  glorious  vitality, 
where  Death  seemed  an  unaccountable  accident.  Here,  Life 
existed  only  on  sufferance,  and  all  Nature  frowned  with  a 
robber's  demand  to  give  it  up.  I  flung  my  pipe  across  the 
room  and  very  soon,  behind  a  fast  reindeer,  drove  away  from 
the  disturbing  reminiscence. 

I  went  across  the  valley  to  the  schoolmaster's  house  to 
nake  a  sketch  of  Kautokeino,  but  the  frost  was  sc  thick  on 
the  windows  that  I  was  obliged  to  take  a  chair  in  the  open 
air  and  work  with  bare  hands.  I  soon  learned  the  value  of 
rapidity  in  such  an  employrrent.  We  spent  the  afternoon 
in  the  Linsman's  parlor,  occasionally  interrupted  by  th« 
visits  of  Lapps,  who,  having  heard  of  our  arrival,  were  verj 
7 


134  NORTHERN'    TRAVEL. 

curious  to  behold  the  first  American*  who  e\ -<T  reached  this 
part  of  the  world.  They  came  into  the  room  with  the  most 
perfect  freedom,  saluted  the  Lansman.  and  then  turned  to 
stare  at  us  until  they  wen-  satisfied,  when  they  retired  to 
give  place  to  others  who  were  waiting  outside.  We  were 
obliged  to  hold  quite  a  levee  during  the  whole  evening. 
They  had  all  heard  of  America,  but  knew  very  little  else 
about  it,  and  many  of  them  questioned  us,  through  Herr 
Berger,  concerning  our  religion  and  laws.  The  fact  of  the 
three  Norwegian  residents  being  able  to  converse  with  us 
astonished  them  greatly.  The  Lapps  of  Kautokeino  have 
hitherto  exalted  themselves  over  the  Lapps  of  Karasjok 
and  Karessuando,  because  the  Lansman,  Berger,  and  Pastor 
Hvoslef  could  speak  with  English  and  French  travellers  ID 
their  own  language,  while  the  merchants  and  pastors  of  the 
latter  places  are  acquainted  only  with  Norwegian  and 
Swedish ;  and  now  their  pride  received  a  vast  accession. 
"  How  is  it  possible?"  said  they  to  Herr  Berger,  ''these  men 
come  from  the  other  side  of  the  world,  and  you  talk  with 
them  as  fast  in  their  own  language  as  if  you  had  nevei 
spoken  any  other !"  The  schoolmaster,  Lars  Kaino,  a  one- 
armed  fellow,  with  a  more  than  ordinary  share  of  acuteness 
and  intelligence,  came  to  request  that  I  would  take  his  por- 
trait, offering  to  pay  me  for  my  trouble.  I  agreed  to  do  it 
gratuitously,  on  condition  that  I  should  keep  it  myself,  and 
that  he  should  bring  his  wife  to  be  included  in  the  sketch. 

He  assented,  with  some  sacrifice  of  vanity,  and  came 
around  the  next  morning,  in  his  holiday  suit  of  blue  cloth, 
trimmed  with  scarlet  and  yellow  binding.  His  wife,  a  short 
woman  of  about  twenty-five,  with  a  face  as  flat  and  round 


KAUTOKEINO.— A  DAY   WITHOUT  A  SUN.  135 

tkS  a  platter,  but  a  remarkably  fair  complexion,  accompanied 
him,  though  with  evident  reluctance,  and  sat  with  eyes 
modestly  cast  down  while  I  sketched  her  features.  The  cir- 
cumstance of  my  giving  Lars  half  a  dollar  at  the  elope  oi 
the  sitting  was  immediately  spread  through  Kautokeino,  and 
before  night  all  the  Lapps  of  the  place  were  ambitious  to 
undergo  the  same  operation.  Indeed,  the  report  reached  the 
neighboring  villages,  and  a  Hammerfest  merchant,  whc 
came  in  the  following  morning  from  a  distance  of  seven 
miles,  obtained  a  guide  at  less  than  the  usual  price,  through 
the  anxiety  of  the  latter  to  arrive  in  time  to  have  his  por- 
trait taken.  The  shortness  of  the  imperfect  daylight,  how- 
ever, obliged  me  to  decline  further  offers,  especially  as  there 
were  few  Lapps  of  pure,  unmixed  blood  among  my  visitors. 
Kautokeino  was  the  northern  limit  of  my  winter  journey 
1  proposed  visiting  Altengaard  in  the  summer,  on  my  way 
to  the  North  Cape,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  barren  tract 
between  the  two  places  to  repay  the  excursion.  I  had 
already  seen  enough  of  the  Lapps  to  undeceive  me  in  regard 
to  previously-formed  opinions  respecting  them,  and  to  take 
away  the  desire  fur  a  more  intimate  acquaintance.  In  fea- 
tures, as  in  language,  they  resemble  the  Finns  sufficiently  to 
indicate  an  ethnological  relationship.  1  could  distinguish 
little,  if  any,  trace  of  the  Mongolian  blood  in  them.  They 
are  fatter,  fairer,  and  altogether  handsomer  than  the  nomadic 
offshoots  of  that  race,  and  resemble  the  Esquimaux  (to 
whom  they  have  been  compared)  in  nothing  but  their  rude, 
filthy  manner  of  life.  Von  Buch  ascribes  the  difference  in 
stature  and  physical  stamina  between  them  and  the  Finns 
to  the  use  of  the  vapor  bath  by  the  latter  and  the  aversioc 


136  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

uo  water  of  the  former.  They  are  a  race  oi  Northern  gip- 
sies, and  it  is  the  restless  blood  of  this  class  rather  than  any 
want  of  natural  capacity  which  retards  their  civilisation 
Although  the  whole  race  has  been  converted  to  Christianity, 
and  education  is  universal  among  them — no  Lapp  being 
permitted  to  marry  until  he  can  read — they  have  but  in  too 
many  respects  substituted  one  form  of  superstition  for 
another.  The  spread  of  temperance  among  them,  however, 
has  produced  excellent  results,  and,  in  point  of  morality,  they 
are  fully  up  to  the  prevailing  standard  in  Sweden  and  Nor- 
way. The  practice,  formerly  imputed  to  them,  of  sharing 
their  connubial  rights  with  the  guests  who  visited  them,  is 
wholly  extinct, — if  it  ever  existed.  Theft  is  the  most  usual 
offence,  but  crimes  of  a  more  heinous  character  are  rare. 

Whatever  was  picturesque  in  the  Lapps  has  departed 
with  their  paganism.  No  wizards  now  ply  their  trade  of 
selling  favorable  winds  to  the  Norwegian  coasters,  or  mut- 
ter their  incantations  to  discover  the  concealed  grottoes  of 
silver  in  the  Kiolen  mountains.  It  is  in  vain,  therefore, 
for  the  romantic  traveller  to  seek  in  them  the  materials  for 
weird  stories  and  wild  adventures.  They  are  frightfully 
pious  and  commonplace.  Their  conversion  has  destroyed 
what  little  of  barbaric  poetry  there  might  have  been  in  their 
composition,  and,  instead  of  chanting  to  the  spirits  of  the 
winds,  and  clouds,  and  mountains,  they  have  become  furious 
ranters,  who  frequently  claim  to  be  possessed  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  As  human  beings,  the  change,  incomplete  as  it  is, 
is  nevertheless  to  their  endless  profit;  but  as  objects  of  in- 
terest to  the  traveller,  it  has  been  to  their  detriment.  It 
would  be  far  more  picturesque  to  describe  a  sabaoth  of  Lap- 


KAUTOKEJXO.— A  DAY  WITHOUT    A  SUN  137 

land  witches  than  a  prayer-meeting  of  shouting  converts, 
yet  no  friend  of  his  race  could  help  rejoicing  to  see  the  lattei 
substituted  fur  the  former.  In  proportion,  therefore,  as  the 
Lappg  have  become  enl;ghtened  (like  all  other  savage  tribes), 
they  have  become  less  interesting.  Retaining  nearly  all 
that  is  repulsive  in  their  habits  of  life,  they  have  lost  the 
only  peculiarities  which  could  persuade  one  to  endure  the 
inconveniences  of  a  closer  acquaintance. 

I  have  said  that  the  conversion  of  the  Lapps  was  in  some 
respects  the  substitution  of  one  form  of  superstition  for 
another.  A  tragic  exemplification  of  this  fact,  which  pro 
duced  the  greatest  excitement  throughout  the  North,  took 
place  in  Kautokeino  four  years  ago.  Through  the  preach- 
ing of  Lestadius  and  other  fanatical  missionaries,  a  spiritual 
epidemic,  manifesting  itself  in  the  form  of  visions,  trances, 
and  angelic  possessions,  broke  out  among  the  Lapps.  It 
infected  the  whole  country,  and  gave  rise  to  numerous  dis- 
turbances and  difficulties  in  Kautokeino.  It  was  no  unusual 
thing  for  one  of  the  congregation  to  arise  during  church  ser- 
vice, declare  that  he  was  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
call  upon  those  present  to  listen  to  his  revelations.  The 
former  L&nsman  arrested  the  most  prominent  of  the  offend- 
ers, and  punished  them  with  line  and  imprisonment.  This 
begat  feelings  of  hatred  on  the  part  of  the  fanatics,  which 
gnon  ripened  into  a  conspiracy.  The  plot  was  matured 
during  the  summer  months,  when  the  Lapps  descended  to- 
wards the  Norwegian  coast  with  their  herds  of  reindeer. 

O 

1  have  the  account  of  what  followed  from  the  lips  ol 
Pastor  Hvoslef.  who  was  then  stationed  here,  and  was  also 
one  of  the  victims  of  their  resentment.  Early  one  morning 


138  NORTHERN-  TRAVEL. 

in  October,  when  the  inhabitants  were  returning  from  theii 
summer  wanderings,  he  was  startled  by  the  appearance  of 
the  resident  merchant's  wife,  who  rushed  into  his  house  ID 
a  frantic  state,  declaring  that  her  husband  was  murdered. 
He  fancied  that  the  woman  was  bewildered  by  some  sudden 
fright,  and,  in  order  to  quiet  her,  walked  over  to  the  mer- 
chant's house.  Here  ht  found  the  unfortunate  man  lying 
dead  upon  the  floor,  while  a  band  of  about  thirty  Lapps 
headed  by  the  principal  fanatics,  were  forcing  the  house  of 
the  Lansman,  whom  they  immediately  dispatched  with  their 
knives  and  clubs.  They  then  seized  the  pastor  and  hi*" 
wife,  beat  them  severely  with  birch-sticks,  and  threatened 
them  with  death  unless  they  would  acknowledge  the  divine 
mission  of  the  so-called  prophets. 

The  greater  part  of  the  day  passed  in  uncertainty  and 
terror,  but  towards  evening  appeared  a  crowd  of  friendly 
Lapps  from  the  neighbouring  villages,  who,  after  having 
received  information,  through  fugitives,  of  what  had  hap- 
pened, armed  themselves  and  marched  to  the  rescue.  A  fight 
ensued,  in  which  the  conspirators  were  beaten,  and  the  prison- 
ers delivered  out  of  their  hands.  The  friendly  Lapps,  una- 
ble to  take  charge  of  all  the  criminals,  and  fearful  lest  some 
of  them  might  escape  during  the  night,  adopted  the  alterna- 
tive of  beating  every  one  of  them  so  thoroughly  that  they 
were  all  found  the  next  morning  in  the  same  places  where 
they  had  been  left  the  evening  before.  They  were  tried  at 
Alten,  the  two  ringleaders  executed,  and  a  number  of  thi 
others  sent  to  the  penitentiary  at  Christiania,  This  sum- 
mary justice  put  a  stop  to  all  open  and  violent  manifesta- 
tions of  religious  frenzy,  but  it  still  exists  to  some  extent 
though  only  indulged  in  secret. 


KAI'TOKKIN'O. A    HAY    WITHOI'T    A    SI'X.  139 

We  paid  a  visit  to  Pastor  Hvoslef  on  Monday,  and  had 
the  pleasure  of  his  company  to  dinner  in  the  evening.  He 
is  a  Christian  gentleman  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term  and 
though  we  differed  in  matters  of  belief,  I  was  deeply  im- 
pressed with  his  piety  and  sincerity.  Madame  Hvoslef  and 
two  rosy  little  Arctic  blossoms  shared  his  exile — for  this  ia 
nothing  less  than  an  exile  to  a  man  of  cultivation  and  intel- 
lectual tastes.  In  his  house  I  saw — the  last  thing  one  would 
have  expected  to  find  in  the  heart  of  Lapland — a  piano. 
Madame  Hvoslef,  who  is  an  accomplished  performer,  sat 
down  to  it,  and  gave  us  the  barcarole  from  Massaniello. 
While  in  the  midst  of  a  maze  of  wild  Norwegian  melodies, 
I  saw  the  Pastor  whisper  something  in  her  ear.  At  once,  to 
our  infinite  amazement,  she  boldly  struck  up  "  Yankee  Doo- 
dle !"  Something  like  an  American  war-whoop  began  to 
issue  from  Braisted's  mouth,  but  was  smothered  in  time  to 
prevent  an  alarm.  "  How  on  earth  did  that  air  get  into 
Lapland  !"  I  asked.  "  I  heard  Ole  Bull  play  it  at  Christi- 
ania/'  said  Madame  Hvoslef,  "  and  learned  it  from  memory 
afterwards." 

The  weather  changed  greatly  after  our  arrival.  From  23° 
below  zero  on  Sunday  evening,  it  rose  to  8^°  above,  on  Mon- 
day night,  with  a  furious  hurricane  of  snow  from  the  north 
We  sent  for  our  deer  from  the  hills  early  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing, in  order  to  start  on  our  return  to  Muoniovara.  The 
Lapps,  however,  have  an  Oriental  disregard  of  time,  and  ai 
there  was  no  chance  of  our  getting  off  before  noon,  we  im 
proved  part  of  the  delay  in  visiting  the  native  schools  and 
some  of  the  earthen  huts,  or,  rather,  dens,  in  which  most  oi 
the  inhabitants  live.  There  were  two  schools,  each  contain- 


140  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

ing  about  twenty  scholars — fat,  greasy  5  ^ungsttrs,  swaddled 
in  reindeer  skins,  with  blue  eyes,  light  brown  or  yellow  hair 
and  tawny  red  cheeks,  wherever  the  original  colour  could  be 
discerned.  As  the  rooms  were  rather  warm,  the  odour  oi 
Lapp  childhood  was  not  quite  as  fresh  as  a  cowslip  and  we 
lid  not  tarry  long  among  them. 

Approaching  the  side  of  a  pile  of  dirt  covered  with  snow, 
we  pushed  one  after  another,  against  a  small  square  doorj 
hung  at  such  a  slant  that  it  closed  of  itseli,  and  entered  an 
ante-den  used  as  a  store-room.  Another  similar  door  ush- 
ered us  into  the  house,  a  rude,  vaulted  space,  framed  with 
poles,  sticks  and  reindeer  hides,  and  covered  compactly  with 
earth,  except  a  narrow  opening  in  the  top  to  let  out  the 
smoke  from  a  fire  kindled  in  the  centre.  Pieces  of  reindeer 
hide,  dried  flesh,  bags  of  fat,  and  other  articles,  hung  from 
the  frame  and  dangled  against  our  heads  as  we  entered.  The 
den  was  not  more  than  five  feet  high  by  aoout  eight  feet  in 
diameter.  The  owner,  a  jolly,  good-humoured  Lapp,  gave 
me  a  low  wooden  stool,  while  his  wife,  w.th  a  pipe  in  her 
mouth,  squatted  down  on  the  hide  which  served  for  a  bed 
and  looked  at  me  with  amiable  curiosity.  1  contemplated 
them  for  a  while  with  my  eyes  full  of  tears  (the  smoke  being 
very  thick,)  until  finally  both  eyes  and  noee  could  endure  no 
more,  and  I  sought  th?  open  air  again. 


THE  RETURN  TO  MUONIOVARA.  141 


CHAPTER  XIL 

THR    RETURN    TO    MUONIOVARA. 

WHILE  at  Kautokeino  I  completed  my  Lapp  outfit  by 
purchasing  a  scarlet  cap,  stuffed  with  eider  down,  a  pair  oi 
basllins^er,  or  reindeer  leggings,  and  the  komager,  or  bread, 
boat-shaped  shoes,  filled  with  dry  soft  hay,  and  tightly 
bound  around  the  ankles,  which  are  worn  by  everybody  in 
Lapland.  Attired  in  these  garments,  I  made  a  very  passa- 
ble Lapp,  barring  a  few  superfluous  inches  of  stature,  and 
at  once  realized  the  prudence  of  conforming  in  one's  cos- 
tume to  the  native  habits.  After  the  first  feeling  of  awk- 
wardness is  over,  nothing  can  be  better  adapted  to  the  Polar 
Winter  than  the  Lapp  dress.  I  walked  about  at  first  with 
the  sensation  of  having  each  foot  in  the  middle  of  a 
large  feather  bed,  but  my  blood  preserved  its  natural  warmth 
even  after  sitting  for  hours  in  an  open  pulk.  The  bcellinger, 
fastened  around  the  thighs  by  drawing-strings  of  reindeer 
ginew,  are  so  covered  by  the  poesk  that  one  becomes,  for  all 
practical  purposes,  a  biped  reindeer,  and  may  wallow  in  the 
snow  as  much  as  he  likes  without  the  possibility  of  a  par- 
ticle getting  through  his  hide. 

The  temperature  was,  nevertheless,  singularly  mild  when 

7* 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

we  set  out  on  our  return.  There  had  been  a  violent  storm 
of  wind  and  snow  the  previous  night,  after  which  the  mer- 
cury rose  to  16°  above  zero.  We  waited  until  noon  before 
our  rsindeers  could  be  collected,  and  then  set  off,  with  the 
kind  farewell  wishes  of  the  four  Norwegian  inhabitants  of 
the  place.  I  confess  to  a  feeling  of  relief  when  we  turned 
our  faces  southward,  and  commenced  our  return  to  daylight. 
We  had  at  last  seen  the  Polar  night,  the  day  without  a  sun- 
rise ;  we  had  driven  our  reindeer  under  the  arches  of  the 
aurora  borealis;  we  had  learned  enough  of  the  Lapps  to 
convince  us  that  further  acquaintance  would  be  of  little 
profit ;  and  it  now  seemed  time  to  attempt  an  escape  from 
the  limbo  of  Death  into  which  we  had  ventured.  Our 
faces  had  already  begun  to  look  pale  and  faded  from  three 
weeks  of  alternate  darkness  and  twilight,  but  the  novelty 
of  our  life  preserved  us  from  any  feeling  of  depression  and 
prevented  any  perceptible  effect  upon  our  bodily  health,  such 
as  would  assuredly  have  followed  a  protracted  experience  of 
the  Arctic  Winter.  Every  day  now  would  bring  us  further 
over  the  steep  northern  shoulder  of  the  Earth,  and  nearer  to 
Miat  great  heart  of  life  in  the  south,  where  her  blood  pul- 
,tes  with  eternal  warmth.  Already  there  was  a  perceptible 
ncrease  of  the  sun's  altitude,  and  at  noonday  a  thin  upper 
slice  of  his  disc  was  visible  for  about  half  an  hour. 

By  Herr  Berger's  advice,  we  engaged  as  guide  to  Lippa 
jftrvi,  a  1  .app,  who  had  formerly  acted  as  postman,  and  pro- 
fessed to  be  able  to  find  his  way  in  the  dark.  The  wind 
had  blown  so  violently  that  it  was  probable  we  should  hav« 
to  break  our  own  road  for  the  whole  distance.  Leaving 
Ka'itokeino,  we  travelled  up  the  valley  of  a  frozen  stream. 


TILE  RETURN   TO  MUOMOVARA.  143 

towards  desolate  ranges  of  hills,  or  rather  shelves  of  the 
table-land,  running  north-east  and  south-west.  They  were 
spotted  with  patches  of  stunted  birch,  hardly  rising  above 
the  snow.  Our  deer  were  recruited,  and  wo  made  very  good 
progress  while  the  twilight  lasted.  At  some  Lapp  tents, 
where  we  stopped  to  make  inquiries  about  the  ice.  I  w;is  much 
amused  by  the  appearance  of  a  group  of  children,  who 
strikingly  resembled  bear-cubs  standing  on  their  hind  legs. 
They  were  coated  with  reindeer  hide  from  head  to  foot,  with 
only  a  little  full-moon  of  tawny  red  face  visible. 

We  stopped  at  Siepe  an  hour  to  bait  the  deer.  The  sin- 
gle wooden  hut  was  crowded  with  Lapps,  one  of  whom, 
apparently  the  owner,  spoke  a  little  Norwegian.  He  know 
who  we  were,  and  askeH  AC  many  questions  about  America. 
He  was  most  anxious  to  know  what  was  our  religion,  and 
what  course  the  Government  took  with  regard  to  different 
sects.  He  seemed  a  little  surprised,  and  not  less  pleased,  to 
hear  that  all  varieties  of  belief  were  tolerated,  and  that  no 
one  sect  possessed  any  peculiar  privileges  over  another.  (It 
is  only  very  recently  that  dissenters  from  the  Orthodox 
Church  have  been  allowed  to  erect  houses  of  worship  in 
Norway.)  While  we  were  speaking  on  these  matters,  an 
old  woman,  kneeling  near  us,  was  muttering  prayers  to  her- 
self, wringing  her  hands,  sobbing,  and  giving  other  evidences 
of  violent  religious  excitement.  This  appeared  to  be  a 
common  occurrence,  as  none  of  the  Lapps  took  the  slightest 
notice  of  it.  I  have  no  doubt  that  much  of  that  hallucina- 
tion which  led  to  the  murders  at  Kautoki-ino  still  exists 
Among  the  people,  kept  alive  by  secret  indulgence.  Those 
missionaries  have  much  to  answer  for  who  have  planted  thf 


1J4  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

seeds  of  spiritual  disease  among  this  igncrant  and  impressv 
ole  race. 

The  night  was  cold  and  splendidly  clear.  We  were 
obliged  to  leave  the  river  on  account  of  rotten  ice,  and  took 
to  the  open  plains,  where  our  deers  sank  to  their  bellies  in 
the  loose  snow.  The  leading  animals  became  fractious,  and 
we  were  obliged  to  stop  every  few  minutes,  until  their 
paroxysms  subsided.  I  could  not  perceive  that  the  Lapps 
themselves  exercised  much  more  control  over  them  than  we, 
who  were  new  to  the  business.  The  domesticated  reindeer 
still  retains  his  wild  instincts,  and  never  fails  to  protest 
against  the  necessity  of  labor.  The  most  docile  will  fly 
from  the  track,  plunge,  face  about  and  refuse  to  draw,  when 
you  least  expect  it.  They  are  possessed  by  an  incorrigible 
stupidity.  Their  sagacity  applies  only  to  their  animal 
wants,  and  they  seem  almost  totally  deficient  in  memory. 
They  never  become  attached  to  men,  and  the  only  sign  of 
recognition  they  show,  is  sometimes  to  allow  certain  persons 
to  catch  ther/i  more  easily  than  others.  In  point  of  speed 
they  are  not  equal  to  the  horse,  and  an  hour's  run  generally 
exhausts  them.  \N  hen  one  considers  their  size,  however, 
their  strength  and  power  of  endurance  seem  marvellous. 
Herr  Berger  informed  me  that  he  had  driven  a  reindeer 
from  Alten  to  Kautokeino,  112  miles,  in  twenty-six  hours, 
and  from  the  latter  place  to  Muoniovara  in  thirty.  I  was 
also  struck  by  the  remarkable  adaptation  of  the  animal  to 
its  uses.  Its  hoof  resembles  that  of  the  camel,  being  formed 
for  snow,  as  the  latter  for  sand.  It  is  broad,  cloven 
•ind  flexible,  the  separate  divisions  spreading  out  so  as  to 
a  resisting  surface  when  the  foot  is  set  down,  and 


THE  RETURN  TO  MUONIOVARA.  145 

falling  together  when  it  is  lifted.  Thus  in  snow  where  a 
horse  would  founder  in  the  space  of  a  hundred  yards,  the 
deer  easily  works  his  way,  mile  after  mile,  drawing  the 
sliding,  canoe-like  pulk,  burdened  with  his  master's  weight, 
after  him. 

The  Lapps  generally  treat  their  animals  with  the  greatest 
patience  and  forbearance,  but  otherwise  do  not  exhibit  any 
particular  attachment  for  them.  They  are  indebted  to  them 
fof  food,  clothing,  habitation  and  conveyance,  and  their 
very  existence  may  therefore  almost  be  said  to  depend  on 
that  of  their  herds.  It  is  surprising,  however,  what  a  num 
her  of  deer  are  requisite  for  the  support  of  a  family.  Von 
Buch  says  that  a  1  <app  who  has  a  hundred  deer  is  poor,  and 
will  be  finally  driven  to  descend  to  the  coast,  and  take  to 
fishing.  The  does  are  never  made  to  labour,  but  are  kept 
in  the  woods  for  milking  and  breeding.  Their  milk  is  rich 
and  nourishing,  but  less  agreeable  to  the  taste  than  that  of 
the  cow.  The  cheese  made  from  it  is  strong  and  not  par- 
ticularly palatable.  It  yields  an  oil  which  is  the  sovereign 
specific  for  frozen  flesh.  The  male  deer  used  for  draft  are 
always  castrated,  which  operation  the  old  Lapp  women  per- 
form by  slowly  chewing  the  glands  between  their  teeth  until 
they  are  reduced  to  a  pulp,  without  wounding  the  hide. 

During  this  journey  I  had  ample  opportunity  of  fami 
iiarising  myself  with  reindeer  travel.  It  is  picturesque 
enough  at  the  outset,  but  when  the  novelty  of  the  thing  is 
worn  off  nothing  is  left  but  a  continual  drain  upon  one's 
patience.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  coolness  with  which  your 
Jeer  jumps  off  the  track,  slackens  his  tow-rope,  turns  around 
and  looks  you  in  the  face,  as  inuch  as  to  say:  "What  ait 


146  NORTHKRX   TRAVEL. 

you  going  to  do  about  it?"  The  simplicity  and  etupiaitj 
of  his  countenance  seem  to  you  to  be  admirably  feigned,  and 
unless  you  are  an  old  hand  you  are  inevitably  provoked 
This  is  particularly  pleasant  on  the  marshy  table-lands  ol 
Lapland,  where,  if  he  takes  a  notion  to  bolt  with  you,  your 
pulk  bounces  over  the  hard  tussocks,  sheers  sideways  down 
the  sudden  pitches,  or  swamps  itself  in  beds  of  loose  snow. 
Harness  a  frisky  sturgeon  to  a  "  dug-out,"  in  a  rough  sea, 
and  you  will  have  some  idea  of  this  method  of  travelling. 
While  I  acknowledge  the  Providential  disposition  of  things 
which  has  given  the  reindeer  to  the  Lapp,  I  cannot  avoid 
thanking  Heaven  that  I  am  not  a  Lapp,  and  that  1  shall 
never  travel  again  with  reindeer. 

The  aberrations  of  our  deer  obliged  us  to  take  a  very 
sinuous  course.  Sometimes  we  headed  north,  and  sometimes 
south,  and  the  way  seemed  so  long  that  I  mistrusted  the 
quality  of  our  guide  ;  but  at  last  a  light  shone  ahead.  It 
was  the  hut  of  Eitajarvi.  A  lot  of  pulks  lay  in  front  of  it, 
and  the  old  Finn  stood  already  with  a  fir  torch,  waiting  to 
light  us  in.  On  arriving,  Anton  was  greeted  by  his  sister 
Caroline,  who  had  come  thus  far  from  Muoniovara,  on  her 
way  to  visit  some  relatives  at  Altengaard.  She  was  in 
company  with  some  Finns,  who  had  left  Lippajarvi  the  day 
previous,  but  losing  their  way  in  the  storm,  had  wandered 
about  for  twenty-four  hours,  exposed  to  its  full  violence 
Think  of  an  American  girl  of  eighteen  sitting  in  an  open 
pulk,  with  the  thermometer  at  zero,  a  furious  wind  and 
blinding  snow  beating  upon  her,  and  neither  rest  nor  food 
for  a  day !  There  are  few  who  would  survive  twelve  hours, 
yet  Caroline  was  as  fresh,  lively,  and  cheerful  as  ever,  and 


THE  RETURN  TO  MtONIOVARA.  1  ^7 

immediately  set  about  cooking  our  supper.  We  found  a 
fire  in  the  cold  guest's  room,  the  place  swept  and  cleaned, 
and  a  good  bed  of  deer-skins  in  one  corner.  The  tempera- 
ture had  sunk  to  12°  below  zero,  and  the  wind  blew  through 
wide  cracks  in  the  floor,  but  between  the  fire  and  the  recip 
rocal  warmth  of  our  bodies  we  secured  a  comfortable  sleep— 
a  thing  of  the  first  consequence  in  such  a  climate. 

Our  deer  started  well  in  the  morning,  and  the  Lapp 
guide  knew  his  way  perfectly.  The  wind  had  blown  so 
strongly  that  the  track  was  cleared  rather  than  filled,  and 
we  slipped  up  the  long  slopes  at  a  rapid  rate.  I  recognised 
the  narrow  valley  where  we  first  struck  the  northern  streams, 
and  the  snowy  plain  beyond,  where  our  first  Lapp  guide  lost 
his  way.  By  this  time  it  was  beginning  to  grow  lighter, 
showing  us  the  dreary  wastes  of  table-land  which  we  had 
before  crossed  in  the  fog  North  of  us  was  a  plain  of  un- 
broken snow,  extending  to  a  level  line  on  the  horizon,  where 
it  met  the  dark  violet  sky.  Were  the  colour  changed,  it 
would  have  perfectly  represented  the  sandy  plateaux  of  the 
Nubian  Desert,  in  so  many  particulars  does  the  extreme 
North  imitate  the  extreme  South.  But  the  sun,  which  never 
deserts  the  desert,  had  not  yet  returned  to  these  solitudes. 
Far,  far  away,  on  the  edge  of  the  sky,  a  dull  red  glimmer 
showed  where  he  moved.  Not  the  table-land  of  Pamir,  in 
Thibet,  the  cradle  of  the  Oxus  and  the  Indus,  but  this  lower 
Lapland  terrace,  is  entitled  to  the  designation  of  the  "  Roof 
cf  the  World."  We  were  on  the  summit,  creeping  along 
her  mountain  rafters,  and  looking  southward,  off  her  shel- 
ving eaves,  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  light  playing  on  her 
ic  front.  Here,  for  once,  we  seemed  to  look  down  OB 


£48  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

the  horizon,  and  I  thought  of  Europe  and  the  Tropics  a* 
lying  below.  Our  journey  northward  had  been  an  ascent 
but  now  the  world's  steep  sloped  downward  before  us  into 
sunshine  and  warmer  air.  In  ascending  the  Andes  or  the 
Himalayas,  you  pass  through  all  climates  and  belts  of  vege 
tation  between  the  Equator  and  the  Pole,  and  so  a  journey 
due  north,  beyond  the  circle  of  the  sun,  simply  reverses  the 
phenomenon,  and  impresses  one  like  the  ascent  of  a  inountaii 
on  the  grandest  possible  scale. 

In  two  hours  from  the  time  we  left  Eitajarvi  we  reached 
the  Lapp  encampment.  The  herds  of  deer  had  been  driven 
in  from  the  woods,  and  were  clustered  among  the  birch  bushes 
around  the  tents.  We  had  some  difficulty  in  getting  our 
own  deer  past  them,  until  the  Lapps  came  to  our  assistance. 
We  made  no  halt,  but  pushed  on,  through  deeper  snows  than 
before,  over  the  desolate  plain.  As  far  as  Palajiirvi  we  ran 
with  our  gunwales  below  the  snow-level,  while  the  foremost 
pulks  were  frequently  swamped  under  the  white  waves  that 
broke  over  them.  We  passed  through  a  picturesque  gorge 
between  two  hills  about  500  feet  high,  and  beyond  it  came 
upon  wide  lakes  covered  deep  with  snow,  under  which  there 
was  a  tolerable  track,  which  the  leading  deer  was  able  to  find 
with  his  feet.  Beyond  these  lakes  there  was  a  ridge,  which 
we  had  no  sooner  crossed  than  a  dismally  grand  prospect 
opened  before  us.  We  overlooked  a  valley-basin,  marked 
with  bolts  of  stunted  birch,  and  stretching  away  for  several 
miles  to  the  foot  of  a  bleak  snowy  mountain,  which  I  At 
once  recognised  as  Lippavara.  After  rounding  its  western 
point  and  turning  southward  again,  we  were  rejoiced  with 
the  sight  of  some  fir  trees,  from  which  the  snow  had  been 


THE  BETCBS  TO  Ml  OMOVARA. 


makeri,  brightening  even  with  their  gloomy  green  the  white 
Monotony  of  the  Lapland  wilderness.  It  was  like  a  gadder 
gleam  of  sunshine. 

We  readied  Lippajtrra  at  twelve,  having  made  twenty 
eight  miles  of  hard  travel  in  fire  hours.  Here  we  stopped 
two  hoars  to  cook  a  meal  and  change  oar  deer,  and  then 
poshed  on  to  reach  Palajoki  the  same  night.  We  drove 
through  the  birch  woods,  no  longer  glorious  as  before,  foi 
the  snow  had  been  shaken  off,  and  there  was  no  sunset  light 
to  transfigure  them.  Still  on,  ploughing  through  deep  seat 
in  the  gathering  darkness,  over  marshy  plains,  all  with  a 
slant  southward,  draining  into  the  Muonio,  until  we  readi- 
ed the  birchen  ridge  of  Suontajirvi,  with  its  beautiful  firs 
rising  here  and  there,  silent  and  immovable.  Even  the 
trees  hare  no  voices  in  the  North,  let  the  wind  blow  as  it 
will.  There  is  nothing  to  be  heard  but  the  sharp  whistle  of 
the  dry  snow  —  the  same  dreary  music  which  accompanies 
the  African  simoom.  The  night  was  very  dark,  and  we 
began  to  grow  exceedingly  tired  of  sitting  flat  in  our  polka.  I 
looked  sharp  for  the  Palaj  >ck  Ely,  the  high  fir-fringed 
oanks  of  which  I  remembered,  for  they  denoted  our  approach 
to  the  Muonio  :  but  it  was  long,  long  before  we  descended 
from  the  marshes  upon  the  winding  road  of  snow-covered 
ice.  In  rain  I  shifted  my  aching  legs  and  worked  my  be- 
numbed hands,  looking  out  ahead  for  the  emboochure  of 
(he  river.  Braisted  and  I  encouraged  each  other,  whenever 
we  were  near  enough  to  hear,  by  the  reminder  that  we  had 
Tie  more  day  with  reindeer.  After  a  long  time  spent 
in  this  way,  the  high  bank?  flattened,  level  snows  and  woodi 
preceded,  and  we  sailed  into  the  port  of  Palajoki. 


15C  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

The  old  Finnish  lady  curtsied  very  deeply  as  she  recog« 
nised  us,  and  hastened  to  cook  our  coffee  and  reindeer,  and 
to  make  us  a  good  bed  with  sheets.  On  our  former  visit 
the  old  lady  and  her  sons  had  watched  us  undress  and  get 
into  bed,  but  on  this  occasion  three  buxom  daughters,  of  age? 
ranging  from  sixteen  to  twenty-two,  appeared  about  the  time 
for  retiring,  and  stationed  themselves  in  a  row  near  the  door, 
where  they  watched  us  with  silent  curiosity.  As  we  had 
shown  no  hesitation  in  the  first  case,  we  determined  to  be 
equally  courageous  now,  and  commenced  removing  our  gar- 
ments with  great  deliberation,  allowing  them  every  oppor- 
tunity of  inspecting  their  fashion  and  the  manner  of  wear- 
ing them.  The  work  thus  proceeded  in  mutual  silence  until 
we  were  nearly  ready  for  repose,  when  Braisted,  by  pulling 
off  a  stocking  and  displaying  a  muscular  calf,  suddenly 
alarmed  the  youngest,  who  darted  to  the  door  and  rushed 
out.  The  second  caught  the  panic,  and  followed,  and  the 
third  and  oldest  was  therefore  obliged  to  do  likewise,  though 
with  evident  reluctance.  I  was  greatly  amused  at  such  an 
unsophisticated  display  of  curiosity.  The  perfect  compo- 
sure of  the  girls,  and  the  steadiness  with  which  they  watch- 
ed us,  showed  that  they  were  quite  unconscious  of  having 
committed  any  impropriety. 

The  morning  was  clear  and  cold.  Our  deer  had  strayed 
so  far  into  the  woods  that  we  did  not  get  under  way  before 
the  forenoon  twilight  commenced.  We  expected  to  find  a 
broken  road  down  the  Muonio,  but  a  heavy  snow  had  fallen 
the  day  previous,  and  the  track  was  completely  filled.  Long 
Isaac  found  so  much  difficulty  in  taking  the  lead,  his  deel 
Constantly  bolting  from  the  path,  that  Anton  finally  relieved 


THE  RETURN  TO  MUOXIOVARA  151 

him.  and  by  standing  upright  in  the  pulk  and  thumping 
the  deer's  flanks,  succeeded  in  keeping  up  the  animal's  spirit* 
and  forcing  a  way.  It  was  slow  work,  however,  and  the 
gun,  rolling  his  whole  disc  above  the  horizon,  announced  mid- 
day before  we  reached  Kyrkessuando.  As  we  drove  up  to 
the  little  inn,  we  were  boisterously  welcomed  by  Hal,  Hen 
Forstrom's  brown  wolf-dog,  who  had  strayed  thus  far  from 
home.  Our  deer  were  beginning  to  give  out,  and  we  were 
very  anxious  to  reach  Muoniovara  in  time  for  dinner,  so  we 
only  waited  long  enough  to  give  the  animals  a  feed  of  moss 
and  procure  some  hot  milk  for  ourselves. 

Thfc  snow-storm,  which  had  moved  over  a  narrow  belt  of 
country,  had  not  extended  below  this  place,  and  the  road  was 
consequently  well  broken.  We  urged  our  deer  into  a  fast 
trot,  and  slid  down  the  icy  floor  of  the  Muonio,  past  hills 
whose  snows  flashed  scarlet  and  rose-orange  in  the  long 
splendour  of  sunset.  Hunger  and  the  fatigue  which  our 
journey  was  producing  at  last,  made  us  extremely  sensitive 
to  the  cold,  though  it  was  not  more  than  20°  below  zero.  My 
blood  became  so  chilled,  that  I  was  apprehensive  the  extremi- 
ties would  freeze,  and  the  most  vigorous  motion  of  the  mus- 
cles barely  sufficed  to  keep  at  bay  the  numbness  which  at- 
tacked them.  At  dusk  we  drove  through  Upper  Muonioniska, 
and  our  impatience  kept  the  reindeers  so  well  in  motion  that 
before  five  o'clock  (although  long  after  dark,)  we  were  climb 
ing  the  well-known  slope  to  Herr  Forstrom's  house  at  Mu 
oniovara.  Here  we  found  the  merchant,  not  yet  departed  to 
the  Lapp  fair  at  Karessuando,  and  Mr.  Wolley,  who  welcom 
ed  ns  with  the  cordiality  of  an  old  friend.  Our  snug  room 
it  the  carpenter's  was  already  warmed  and  set  in  order,  and 


15  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

after  our  reindeer  drive  of  250  miles  through  the  wildest 
parts  of  Lapland,  we  felt  i  home-like  sense  of  happiness  and 
comfort  in  smoking  our  pipes  before  the  familiar  iron  stove. 

The  trip  to  Kautokeino  embraced  about  all  I  saw  of  I  ,app 
life  during  the  winter  journey.  The  romance  of  the  tribe, 
as  I  have  already  said,  has  totally  departed  with  their  con* 
version,  while  their  habits  of  life  scarcely  improved  in  tb< 
least,  are  sufficiently  repulsive  to  prevent  any  closer  experi- 
ence than  I  have  had,  unless  the  gain  were  greater.  Mr. 
Wolley,  who  had  been  three  years  in  1  /apland,  also  informed 
me  that  the  superstitious  and  picturesque  traditions  of  the 
people  have  almost  wholly  disappeared,  and  the  coarse  mys- 
ticism and  rant  which  they  have  engrafted  upon  their  im- 
perfect Christianity  does  not  differ  materially  from  the  same 
excrescence  in  more  civilized  races.  They  have  not  even  (the 
better  for  them,  it  is  true)  any  characteristic  and  picturesque 
vices — but  have  become,  certainly  to  their  own  great  advant- 
age, a  pious,  fanatical,  moral,  ignorant  and  commonplace 
people.  I  have  described  them  exactly  as  I  found  them,  and 
as  they  have  been  described  to  me  by  those  who  knew  them 
well.  The  readers  <f  "  Afraja?'  may  be  a  little  disappoint- 
ed with  the  picture,  as  I  confess  I  have  been  (in  an  artistic 
sense,  only)  with  the  reality ;  but  the  Lapps  have  lost  many 
vices  with  their  poetic  diablerie,  and  oobody  has  a  right  to 
complain. 

It  is  a  pity  that  many  traits  which  are  really  characteris- 
tic and  interesting  in  a  people  cannot  be  mentioned  on  ac- 
eount  oi?  that  morbid  prudery  so  prevalent  in  our  day,  which 
insults  the  unconscious  innocence  of  nature  Oh,  that  on« 
could  imitate  the  honest  unreserve  of  the  ola  travellers — the 


THE  RETURN  TO  MUONIVARA.  153 

jor.scientiousness  which  insisted  on  telling  not  ,my  the  truth, 
but  the  whole  truth  !  This  is  scarcely  possible,  now ;  but  at 
the  same  time  I  have  not  been  willing  to  emasculate  my  ac- 
counts of  the  tribes  of  men  to  the  extent  perhaps  required  by 
our  ultra-conventionalism,  and  must  insist,  now  and  then,  on 
being  allowed  a  little  Flemish  fidelity  to  nature.  In  the  de- 
scription of  races,  as  in  the  biography  of  individuals,  the 
most  important  half  of  life  is  generally  omitted. 


154  NORTHERN   TRAVEL 


CHAPTER   Xltl 

ABOUT    THE    FINNS. 

WE  remained  but  another  day  in  Muoniovara,  after  oui 
i«turn  from  Kautokeino,  and  this  was  devoted  to  prepara- 
tions for  the  return  journey  to  Haparanda.  My  first  inten- 
tion had  been  to  make  an  excursion  across  the  country  tc 
the  iron  mountains  of  Gellivara,  thence  to  Quickjock,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Northern  Alp,  Sulitelma,  "  Q,ueen  of  Snows/' 
and  so  southward  through  the  heart  of  Swedish  Lappmark  ; 
but  I  found  that  such  a  journey  would  be  attended  with 
much  difficulty  and  delay.  In  the  first  place,  there  were  no 
broken  roads  at  this  season,  except  on  the  routes  of  inland 
trade;  much  of  the  intermediate  country  is  a  wilderness 
where  one  must  camp  many  nights  in  the  snow ;  food  was 
very  scarce,  the  Lapps  having  hardly  enough  for  their  own 
necessities,  and  the  delays  at  every  place  where  guides  and 
reindeer  must  be  changed,  would  have  prolonged  the  journey 
far  beyond  the  time  which  I  had  allotted  to  the  North.  I 
began  to  doubt,  also,  whether  one  would  be  sufficiently  re- 
paid for  the  great  fatigue  and  danger  which  such  a  trip 
would  have  involved.  There  is  no  sensation  of  which  one 
wearies  sooner  than  disgust ;  and,  much  as  I  enjoy  a  degree  of 


ABOUT    THE  FINNS. 


oarbarism  in  milder  climates,  I  suspected  that  a  long  com- 
panionship with  Lapps  in  a  polar  winter  would  be  a  little 
too  much  for  me.  So  I  turned  my  face  toward  Stockholm, 
heartily  glad  that  I  had  made  the  journey,  yet  not  dissatisfied 
that  I  was  looking  forward  to  its  termination. 

Before  setting  out  on  our  return,  I  shall  devote  a  few 
pages  to  the  Firms.  For  the  principal  facts  concerning 
them,  1  am  mostly  indebted  to  Mr.  Wolley,  whose  acquaint- 
ance with  the  language,  and  residence  of  three  years  in 
Lapland,  have  made  him  perfectly  familiar  with  the  race. 
As  I  have  already  remarked,  they  are  a  more  picturesque 
people  than  the  Swedes,  with  stronger  lights  and  shades  of 
character,  more  ardent  temperaments,  and  a  more  deeply- 
rooted  national  feeling.  They  seem  to  be  rather  clannish  and 
exclusive,  in  fact,  disliking  both  Swedes  and  Russians,  and 
rarely  intermarrying  with  them.  The  sharply-defined 
boundaries  of  language  and  race,  at  the  head  of  the  Bothnian 
Gulf,  are  a  striking  evidence  of  this.  Like  their  distant 
relatives,  the  Hungarian  Magyars,  they  retain  many  distinct 
traces  of  their  remote  Asiatic  origin.  It  is  partly  owing  to 
this  fact,  and  partly  to  that  curious  approach  of  extremes 
which  we  observe  in  nature  no  less  than  in  humanity,  that 
all  suggestive  traits  of  resemblance  in  these  regions  point  to 
the  Orient  rather  than  to  Europe. 

I  have  already  described  the  physical  characteristics  of  the 
Finns,  and  have  nothing  to  add,  except  that  I  found  the 
iame  type  everywhere,  even  among  the  mixed-blooded  Q.u8na 
of  Kautokeino  —  high  cheek-bones,  square,  strong  jaws,  full 
yet  firm  lips,  low,  broad  foreheads,  dark  eyes  and  hair,  and 
%  deeper,  warmer  red  on  the  cheeks  than  on  those  of  the  TOST 


f56  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

Swedes.  The  average  height  is,  perhaps,  not  quite  equal  U 
that  of  the  latter  race,  but  in  physical  vigor  I  can  see  no 
inferiority,  and  there  are  among  them  many  men  of  splendid 
Btaiture,  strength,  and  proportion.  Von  Buch  ascribes  the 
marked  difference  of  stature  between  the  Finns  and  the 
Lapps,  both  living  under  precisely  the  same  influences  of 
climate,  to  the  more  cleanly  habits  of  the  former  and  their 
constant  use  of  the  vapor-bath ;  but  I  have  always  found  that 
blood  and  descent,  even  where  the  variation  from  the  primi- 
tive stock  is  but  slight,  are  more  potent  than  climate  or 
custom.  The  Finns  have  been  so  long  christianised  and 
civilised  (according  to  the  European  idea  of  civilisation), 
that  whatever  peculiar  characteristic  they  retain  must  be 
looked  for  mainly  in  those  habits  which  illustrate  their 
mental  and  moral  natures.  In  their  domestic  life,  they 
correspond  in  most  particulars  to  the  Swedes  of  the  same 
class. 

They  are  passionate,  and  therefore  prone  to  excesses — im- 
aginative, and  therefore,  owing  to  their  scanty  education, 
superstitious.  Thus  the  religious  element,  especially  the 
fantastic  aberrations  thereof  engendered  by  Lestadius  and 
other  missionaries,  while  it  has  tended  greatly  to  repress  the 
vice,  has  in  the  same  proportion  increased  the  weakness 
Drunkeness,  formerly  so  prevalent  as  to  be  the  curse  of  Lap- 
land, is  now  exceedingly  rare,  and  so  are  the  crime?  for  which 
it  is  responsible.  The  most  flagrant  case  which  has  occurred 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Muoniovara  for  some  years  past,  was 
that  of  a  woman  who  attempted  to  poison  her  father-in-law 
by  mixing  the  scrapings  of  lucifer  matches  with  his 
coffee,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  burden  of  supporting  him 


ABOUT   THE   FINNS.  157 

Although  the  evidence  \vas  very  convincing  the  matter  \vaa 
hushed  up.  in  order  to  avoid  a  scandal  upon  the  Church, 
the  woman  being  a  steadfast  member.  In  regard  to  drunk- 
enness, I  have  heard  it  stated  that,  while  it  was  formerly  no 
unusual  thing  for  a  Finn  to  be  frozen  to  death  in  thia  con- 
dition, the  same  catastrophe  never  befell  a  Lapp,  owing  to 
his  mechanical  habit  of  keeping  his  arms  and  feet  in 
motion — a  habit  which  he  preserves  even  while  utterly  stu 
pefied  and  unconscious. 

A  singular  spiritual  epidemic  ran  through  Polar  Finland 
three  or  four  years  ago.  cotemporary  with  the  religious  ex- 
citement in  Norwegian  Lapland,  and  partly  occasioned  by 
the  same  reckless  men.  It  consisted  of  sobbings,  strong 
nervous  convulsions,  and  occasional  attacks  of  that  state  of 
Bemi-consciousness  called  trance,  the  subjects  of  which  were 
looked  upon  as  having  been  possessed  by  the  Spirit,  and 
transported  to  the  other  world,  where  visions  like  those  of 
John  on  Patmos,  were  revealed  to  them.  The  missionaries, 
instead  of  repressing  this  unhealthy  delusion,  rather  encour- 
aged it,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  publish  as  supernatural 
revelations,  the  senseless  ravings  of  these  poor  deluded  peo- 
ple. The  epidemic  spread  until  there  was  scarcely  a  family 
some  member  of  which  was  not  affected  by  it,  and  even  yet 
it  lias  not  wholly  subsided.  The  fit  would  come  upon  the 
infected  persons  at  any  time,  no  matter  where  they  \vere.  or 
how  employed.  It  usually  commenced  with  a  convulsive 
satching  of  the  breath,  which  increased  in  violence,  accom- 
panied by  £ol>bing,  and  sometimes  by  cries  or  groans,  until 
the  victim  was  either  exhausted  or  fell  into  a  trance,  which 
lasted  some  hours  The  persons  who  were  affected  wen 


,58  NOKTHI:I:X  TU.UKL 

always  treated  with  the  greatest  respect  during  the 
DO  one  ventured  to  smile,  no  matter  how  absurd  a  form  the 
visitation  might  take.  The  principle  of  abstinence  from 
strong  drinks  was  promulgated  about  the  same  time,  ind 
much  D£  the  temperance  of  the  Finns  and  Lapps  is  un 
dou^tedly  owing  the  impression  made  upon  their  natures  bj 
these  phenomena. 

The  same  epidemic  has  often  prevailed  in  the  United 
States,  England  and  Germany.  The  barking  and  dancing 
mania  which  visited  Kentucky  thirty  or  forty  years  ago, 
and  the  performances  of  the  "  Holy  Rollers,"  were  even 
more  ludicrous  and  unnatural.  Such  appearances  are  a 
puzzle  alike  to  the  physiologist  and  the  philosopher ;  their 
frequency  shows  that  they  are  based  on  some  weak  spot  in 
human  nature ;  and  in  proportion  as  we  pity  the  victims  we 
have  a  right  to  condemn  those  who  sow  the  seeds  of  thr  pes- 
tilence. True  religion  is  never  spasmodic  ;  it  is  calm  as  the 
existence  of  God.  I  know  of  nothing  more  shocking  than 
such  attempts  to  substitute  rockets  and  blue  lights  for  Hea- 
ven's eternal  sunshine. 

So  far  as  regards  their  moral  character,  the  Finns  have 
as  little  cause  for  reproach  as  any  other  people  We  found 
them  as  universally  honest  and  honourable  in  their  dealings 
as  the  Northern  Swedes,  who  are  not  surpassed  in  the  world 
in  this  respect.  Yet  their  countenances  express  more  cun- 
ning and  reserve,  and  the  virtue  may  be  partly  a  negative 
one,  resulting  from  that  indolence  which  characterises  the 
frigid  and  the  torrid  zone.  Thus,  also,  notwithstanding 
physical  signs  which  denote  more  ardent  animal  passions 
than  their  neighbors,  they  are  equally  chaste,  and  have  aa 


ABOUT   THH   FINNS. 


high  a  standard  of  sexual  purity.  Illegitimate  births  are 
quite  rare,  and  are  looked  upon  as  a  lasting  shame  and  dis- 
grace to  both  parties.  The  practice  of  "  bundling"  which 
until  recently,  was  very  common  among  Finnish  lovers,  very 
seldom  led  to  such  results,  and  their  marriage  speedily  re- 
moved the  dishonour.  Their  manners,  socially,  in  this  res- 
pect, are  curiously  contradictory.  Thus,  while  both  sexes 
freely  mingle  in  the  bath,  in  a  state  of  nature,  while  the 
women  unhesitatingly  scrub,  rub  and  dry  their  husbands, 
brothers  or  male  friends,  while  the  salutation  for  both  sexes 
is  an  embrace  with  the  right  arm,  a  kiss  is  considered  gross- 
ly immodest  and  improper.  A  Finnish  woman  expressed 
the  greatest  astonishment  and  horror,  at  hearing  from  Mr. 
Wolley  that  it  was  a  very  common  thing  in  England  for  a 
husband  and  wife  to  kiss  each  other.  "  If  my  husband  were 
to  attempt  such  a  thing,"  said  she,  "I  would  beat  him  about 
the  ears  so  that  he  would  feel  it  for  a  week."  Yet  in  con- 
versation they  are  very  plain  and  unreserved,  though  by  no 
means  gross.  They  acknowledge  that  such  things  as  gen- 
eration, gestation  and  parturition  exist,  and  it  may  be  that 
this  very  absence  of  mystery  tends  to  keep  chaste  so  excita- 
ble and  imaginative  a  race. 

Notwithstanding  their  superstition,  their  love  of  poetry, 
and  the  wild,  rich,  musical  character  of  their  language,  there 
is  a  singular  absence  of  legendary  lore  in  this  part  of  Fin- 
land Perhaps  this  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  their  ancestors 
have  emigrated  hither,  principally  within  the  last  two  cen- 
turies. from  the  early  home  of  the  race  —  Tavastland,  the 
shores  of  the  Pajana  Lake,  and  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  It 
is  a  difficult  matter  to  preserve  family  traditions  among 


I  60  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

them,  or  even  any  extended  genealogical  record,  from  tht 
circumstance  that  a  Finn  takes  his  name,  not  only  from  hifl 
father's  surname,  but  from  his  residence.  Thus,  Isaki  takefl 
the  name  of  "  Anderinpoika"  from  his  father  Anderi,  and 
idds  "  Niemi,"  the  local  name  of  his  habitation.  His  son 
Nils  will  be  called  Nils  Isakipoika,  with  the  addition  of  the 
name  of  his  residence,  wherever  that  may  be  ;  and  his  family 
name  will  be  changed  as  often  as  his  house.  There  may  be 
a  dozen  different  names  in  the  course  of  one  generation,  and 
the  list  soon  becomes  too  complicated  and  confused  fur  an 
uneducated  memory.  It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  the 
Finn  knows  very  little  except  about  what  happened  during 
his  own  life,  or,  at  best,  his  father's,  I  never  heard  the 
Kalewala  spoken  of,  and  doubt  very  much  whether  it  is 
known  to  the  natives  of  this  region.  The  only  sor.gs  we 
heard,  north  of  Haparanda,  were  hymns — devout,  but  dis- 
mal. There  must  be  ballads  and  household  songs  yet  alive, 
but  the  recent  spiritual  fever  has  silenced  them  for  the 
time. 

I  was  at  first  a  little  surprised  to  find  the  natives  of  the 
North  so  slow,  indolent  and  improvident.  We  have  an  idea 
that  a  cold  climate  is  bracing  and  stimulating — ergo,  the 
further  north  you  go,  the  more  active  and  (merge tic  yon 
will  find  the  people.  Rut  the  touch  of  ice  is  like  that  <>i 
fire.  The  tropics  relax,  the  pole  benumbs,  and  the  practical 
result  is  the  same  in  both  cases.  In  the  long,  long  winter 
when  there  are  but  four  hours  of  twilight  to  twenty  of  dark- 
ness— when  the  cows  are  housed,  the  wood  cut,  the  hay 
gathered,  the  barley  bran  and  fir  bark  stowed  away  for  Wad 
and  the  summer's  catch  of  fish  salted — what  can  a  man  do 


ABOUT  THE   FINNS.  161 

when  his  load  of  wood  or  hay  is  hauled  borne,  but  eat,  gos- 
3ip  and  sleep  ?  To  hed  at  nine,  and  out  of  it  at  eight  in 
the  morning,  smoking  and  dozing  between  the  slow  perform- 
ance of  his  few  daily  duties,  he  becomes  at  last  as  listles? 
and  dull  as  a  hibernating  bear.  In  the  summer  he  has  per- 
petual daylight,  and  need  not  hurry.  Besides,  why  should 
he  give  himself  special  trouble  to  produce  an  unusually  large 
crop  of  flax  or  barley,  when  a  single  night  may  make  his 
labours  utterly  profitless?  Even  in  midsummer  the  blight- 
ing frost  may  fall :  nature  seems  to  take  a  cruel  pleasure  in 
thwarting  him :  he  is  fortunate  only  through  chance ;  and 
thus  a  sort  of  Arab  fatalism  and  acquiescence  in  whatever 
happens,  takes  possession  of  him.  His  improvidence  is  also 
to  be  ascribed  to  the  same  cause.  Such  fearful  famine  and 
suffering  as  existed  in  Finland  and  Lapland  during  the  win- 
ter of  1856-7  might  no  doubt  have  been  partially  prevent- 
ed, but  no  human  power  could  have  wholly  forestalled  it. 

The  polar  zone  was  never  designed  for  the  abode  of  man. 
In  the  pre- Adamite  times,  when  England  was  covered  with 
palm-forests,  and  elephants  ranged  through  Siberia,  things 
may  have  been  widely  different,  nnd  the  human  race  then 
(if  there  was  any)  may  have  planted  vineyards  on  these 
frozen  hills  and  lived  in  bamboo  huts.  But  since  the  ireolo- 
gical  emvutes  and  revolutions,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
terrestrial  regime,  I  cannot  for  the  life  of  me  see  whatever 
induced  beings  endowed  with  human  reason,  to  transplant 
themselves  hither  and  here  take  root,  nhile  such  vast  spaces 
lie  waste  and  useless  in  more  irenial  climes.  A  man  may 
be  pardoned  for  remaining  where  the  providences  of  birth 
tnd  education  have  thrown  him,  but  I  cannot  excuse  th» 


162  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

first  colonists  for  inflicting  snch  a  home  upon  centuries  of 
descendants  Compare  even  their  physical  life — the  pure 
animal  satisfaction  in  existence,  for  that  is  not  a  trifling 
matter  after  all — with  that  of  the  Nubians,  or  the  Malays, 
or  the  Polynesians !  It  is  the  difference  between  a  poor 
hare,  hunted  and  worried  year  after  year  by  hounds  and 
visions  of  hounds  and  the  familiar,  confiding  wren,  happiest 
of  creatures,  because  secure  of  protection  everywhere.  Oh 
that  the  circle  of  the  ecliptic  would  coincide  with  that  of 
the  equator !  That  the  sun  would  shine  from  pole  to  pole 
for  evermore,  and  all  lands  be  habitable  and  hospitable,  and 
the  Saharan  sands  (according  to  Fourier)  be  converted  into 
bowers  of  the  Hesperides,  and  the  bitter  salt  of  the  ocean 
brine  (vide  the  same  author)  become  delicious  champagne 
punch,  wherein  it  would  be  pleasure  to  drown  !  But  I  am 
afraid  that  mankind  is  not  yet  fit  for  such  a  millennium. 

Meanwhile  it  is  truly  comforting  to  find  that  even  here, 
where  men  live  under  such  discouraging  circumstances  that 
one  would  charitably  forgive  them  the  possession  of  many 
vices,  they  are,  according  to  their  light,  fully  as  true,  and 
honest,  and  pure,  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  most  favoured 
countries  in  the  world.  Love  for  each  other,  trust  in  each 
other,  faith  in  God,  arc  all  vital  among  them  ;  and  their 
shortcomings  are  so  .few  and  so  easily  accounted  for,  that 
one  must  respect  them  and  feel  that  his  faith  in  man  is  not 
lessened  in  knowing  them.  You  who  spend  your  lives  at 
home  can  never  know  how  much  good  there  is  in  tne  world, 
in  rude  unrefined  race?,  evil  naturally  rises  to  the  surface, 
and  one  can  discern  the  character  of  the  stream  beneath  its 
scum  It  is  only  in  the  highest  civilization  where  the  out 


ABOUT  THE  F1XK8.  163 

side  is  goodly  to  the  eye,  too  often  concealing  an  interior 
roul  to  the  core. 

But  I  have  no  time  to  moralise  on  these  matters.  My 
duty  is  that  of  a  chronicler ;  and  if  I  perform  that  consci- 
entiously, the  lessons  which  my  observations  suggest  will  need 
no  pointing  out.  I  cannot  close  this  chapter,  however,  with- 
out confessing  my  obligations  to  Mr.  Wolley,  whose  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  Lapps  and  Finns  enabled  me  to  test  the 
truth  of  my  own  impressions,  and  to  mature  opinions  which 
I  should  otherwise,  from  my  own  short  experience,  have  hesi- 
tated in  stating.  Mr.  Wolley,  with  that  pluck  and  persist- 
ence of  English  character  which  Emerson  so  much  admires, 
had  made  himself  master  of  all  that  Lapland  can  furnish  to 
the  traveller,  but  intended  remaining  another  year  for  scien- 
tific purposes.  If  he  gives  to  the  world — as  I  hope  and  trust 
he  will — the  result  of  t^is  long  and  patient  inquiry  and  in- 
vestigation, we  shall  have  at  last  A  standard  authority  for 
this  little-known  corner  of  Europe.  We  were  also  indebted 
to  Mr.  Wolley  for  much  personal  kindness,  which  1  take 
pleasure  in  acknowledging  in  the  only  way  he  cannot  pre- 
vent. 


164  NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

EXPERIEXCES     OF     ARCTIC     WEATHER. 

WE  bade  a  final  adieu  to  Muoniovara  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  24th  of  January,  leaving  Mr.  Wolley  to  wait  for  June 
and  the  birds  in  that  dismal  seclusion.  Instead  of  resuming 
skfuts,  we  engaged  horses  as  far  as  Kengis  from  Herr  For- 
strom  and  a  neighbouring  Finn,  with  a  couple  of  shock-headed 
natives  as  postillions.  Our  sleds  were  mounted  upon  two 
rough  Finnish  sledges,  the  only  advantage  of  which  was  to 
make  harder  work  for  the  horses — but  the  people  would  have 
it  so.  The  sun  was  down,  but  a  long,  long  twilight  succeeded 
with  some  faint  show  of  a  zodiacal  light.  There  was  a 
tolerable  track  on  the  river,  but  our  Finns  walked  their  horsea 
the  whole  way,  and  we  were  nearly  seven  hours  in  making 
Parkajoki.  The  air  was  very  sharp  ;  my  nose,  feet  and  hands 
kept  me  busily  employed,  and  I  began  to  fear  that  I  was  be- 
coming unusually  sensitive  to  cold,  for  the  thermometer  indi- 
cated but  15°  below  zero  when  we  started.  At  Parkajoki, 
however,  my  doubts  were  removed  and  my  sensations  ex- 
plained, on  finding  that  the  temperature  had  fallen  to  44° 
below. 

We  slept  warmly  and  well  on  our  old  tad  of  reindeer  skiiv 


EXPERIENCES   OF   ARCTIC   WF.ATHER.  155 

in  one  corner  of  the  milk-room.  When  Braisted,  who  rose 
first,  opened  the  door,  a  thick  white  mist  hurst  in  and  rolled 
heavily  along  the  floor.  I  went  out,  attired  only  in  my  shirt 
and  drawers,  to  have  a  look  at  the  weather.  I  found  the  air 
very  still  and  keen,  though  not  painfully  cold — but  I  was 
.still  full  of  the  warmth  of  sleep.  The  mercury,  however, 
had  sunk  into  the  very  bulb  of  the  thermometer,  and  was 
frozen  so  solid  that  I  held  it  in  the  full  glare  of  the  fire  for 
about  a  minute  and  a  half  before  it  thawed  sufficiently  to 
mount.  The  temperature  was  probably  50°  below  zero,  if 
not  more — greater  than  any  we  had  yet  experienced.  But 
it  was  six  o'clock,  and  we  must  travel.  Fortifying  ourselves 
with  coffee  and  a  little  meat,  and  relying  for  defence  in  case 
of  extremity  on  a  bottle  of  powerful  rum  with  which  we  had 
supplied  ourselves,  we  muffled  up  with  more  than  usual  care, 
and  started  for  Kihlangi. 

We  devoted  ourselves  entirely  to  keeping  warm,  and 
during  the  ride  of  six  hours  suffered  very  little  except  from 
the  gradual  diminution  of  our  bodily  temperature.  It  was 
a  dreary  journey,  following  the  course  of  the  Muonio  be- 
tween black,  snow-laden  forests.  The  sun  rose  to  a  height 
of  seven  or  eight  degrees  at  meridian  ;  when  we  came  over 
the  same  road,  on  our  way  north,  he  only  showed  half  his 
disc.  At  Kihlangi  the  people  recognised  us,  and  were  as 
well  disposed  as  their  stupidity  would  allow.  The  old 
woman  cooked  part  of  our  reindeer  joint,  which,  with  half  a 
dozen  cups  of  strong  coffee,  brought  back  a  comfortable 
warmth  to  our  extremities.  There  were  still  twenty-four 
miles  to  be  traversed  ;  the  horses  were  already  exhausted, 

and  the  temperature  only  rose  to — 42C  at  mid-day,  after 
8* 


I  6(j  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

which  it  fell  again.  We  had  a  terrible  journey.  Step  by 
step  the  horses  slowly  pulled  us  through  the  snow,  every 
hour  seeming  lengthened  to  a  day,  as  we  worked  our  be- 
numbed lingers  and  toes  until  the  muscles  were  almost 
powerless,  and  yet  it  was  dangerous  to  cease.  Gradually 
the  blood  grew  colder  in  the  main  channels ;  insidious  chills 
succeeded,  followed  by  a  drowsy  torpor,  like  that  which  is 
produced  by  a  heavy  dose  of  opium,  until  we  were  fain  to 
have  recourse  to  the  rum,  a  horrid,  vitriolic  beverage,  which 
burned  our  throats  and  stomachs  like  melted  lead,  yet  gave 
us  a  temporary  relief. 

We  almost  despaired  of  reaching  Jokijalka,  on  finding, 
about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  that  our  postillions  had  taken  us 
to  the  village  of  Kolare,  and  stopped  before  a  large  log 
house,  where  they  seemed  to  think  we  would  spend  the 
night.  Everybody  had  gone  to  bed,  we  knew  not  where  we 
were  and  had  set  our  hearts  upon  the  comfortable  guest's 
room  at  Jokijalki.  It  was  impossible  to  make  the  fellowb 
understand  me,  but'  they  saw  that  we  were  angry,  and  after 
a  short  consultation  passed  on.  We  again  entered  the 
snowy  woods,  which  were  dimly  lighted  up  by  an  aurora  be- 
hind us — a  strange,  mysterious,  ghastly  illumination,  like 
the  phosphorescent  glow  of  a  putrefying  world.  We  were 
desperately  cold,  our  very  blood  freezing  in  our  veins,  and 
our  limbs  numb  and  torpid.  To  keep  entirely  awake  was 
impossible.  We  talked  incessantly,  making  random  answers, 
as  continual  fleeting  dreams  crossed  the  current  of  our  ecu- 
Boiousness.  A  heavy  thump  on  the  back  was  pardoned  by 
him  who  received  it,  and  a  punch  between  the  eyes  would 
have  been  thankfully  accepted  had  it  been  necessary. 


EXPERIENCES    JF   ARCTIC    WLATHEM.  167 

At  last,  at  lust,  Kolare  church  on  the  river  bank  came  in 
flight ;  we  crossed  to  the  Russian  side,  and  drove  into  th« 
yard  of  the  inn.  It  was  nearly  midnight,  47°  below  zero 
and  we  had  been  for  seventeen  hours  exposed  to  such  a  tern 
perature.  Everybody  had  long  been  asleep.  Locks  and 
bolts  are  unknown,  however,  so  we  rushed  into  the  family 
room,  lit  fir  splinters,  and  inspected  the  faces  of  the  sleeping 
group  until  we  found  the  landlord,  who  arose  and  kindled 
a  fresh  fire  in  the  milk -room.  They  made  us  coffee  and  a 
small  bed,  saying  that  the  guest's  room  was  too  cold,  which 
indeed  it  was,  being  little  less  than  the  outside  temperature 
On  opening  the  door  in  the  morning,  the  cold  air  rushed  in 
as  thick  and  white  as  steam.  We  had  a  little  meat  cooked, 
but  could  not  eat  enough,  at  such  an  early  hour,  to  supply 
much  fuel.  As  for  taking  anything  with  us  for  refreshment 
on  the  road,  it  was  out  of  the  question.  One  of  our  Finns 
turned  back  to  Muoniovara  with  the  laziest  horse,  and  we 
got  another  from  our  Russian  landlord.  But  it  was  a  long, 
long  journey  to  the  next  station  (twenty  miles),  and  the 
continuance  of  the  extreme  cold  began  to  tell  upon  us. 
This  part  of  the  road  was  very  heavy,  as  on  the  journey 
up — seemingly  a  belt  of  exposed  country  where  the  snow 
drifts  more  than  elsewhere. 

At  Kexisvara  are  found  two  of  the  three  pleasant  women, 
who  cooked  our  last  fragment  of  reindeer  meat,  and  sent  off 
for  horses  to  Kardis.  We  here  parted  with  our  other  Finn, 
very  glad  to  get  rid  of  his  horse,  and  take  a  fresh  start 
We  had  no  difficulty  now  in  making  our  way  with  the 
people,  as  they  all  recognised  us  and  remembered  our  over- 
payments ;  besides  which,  1  had  enlarged  my  Finnish  voc» 


168  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

bulary  at  Muoniovara.  Our  horse.-  were  bettor,  our  sletliro? 
lighter  and  we  were  not  long  in  reaching  the  iron-works  at 
Kengis,  which  we  passed  at  dusk.  I  should  willingly  have 
sailed  upon  the  hospitable  bruk-patrnn,  but  we  were  in  too 
great  a  hurry  to  get  out  of  the  frigid  zone.  We  were 
warmed  by  our  meal,  and  sang  lustily  as  we  slid  down  the 
Tornea,  finding  its  dreary,  sparsely  settled  banks  cheerful  and 
smiling  by  contrast  with  the  frightful  solitudes  we  had  left. 
After  some  hours  the  postillion  stopped  before  a  house  on  the 
Swedish  bank  to  hay  his  horses.  We  went  up  and  found  a 
single  inhabitant,  a  man  who  was  splitting  fir  for  torches, 
but  the  conversation  was  limited  to  alternate  puffs  from  our 
pipes  There  was  a  fine  aurora  behind  us — a  low  arch  of 
white  fire,  with  streamers  radiating  outward,  shifting  and 
dancing  along  its  curve. 

It  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  before  we  reached  Kardis,  half 
unconscious  from  the  cold.  Our  horse  ran  into  the  wr-nig 
place,  and  we  lost  sight  of  the  baggage-sled,  our  only  guide 
in  the  darkness.  We  could  no  longer  trust  the  animal's  in- 
stinct, but  had  to  depend  on  our  own.  which  is  perhaps  truer 
at  least,  I  have  often  found  in  myself  traces  of  that  blind, 
unreasoning  faculty  which  guides  the  bee  and  the  bird,  and 
have  never  been  deceived  in  trusting  to  it  We  found  the 
inn,  and  carried  a  cloud  of  frozen  vapor  into  the  kitchen 
with  US;  as  we  opened  the  door.  The  graceful  wreaths  of 
ice-smoke  rolled  before  our  feet,  as  before  those  of  ascending 
saints  in  the  old  pictures,  but  ourselves,  hair  from  head  to 
foot,  except  two  pairs  of  eyes,  which  looked  out  through  icy 
loop-holes,  resembled  the  reverse  of  saints.  I  told  the  land- 
lord in  Finnish  that  we  wanted  to  sleep— "mm  tarvi  nuku 


EXPERIKNCKS   OK   ARCTIC    VVI.ATHKK.  J69 

a."  He  pointed  to  a  bed  in  the  corner,  out  of  which  rose  a 
sick  girl,  of  about  seventeen,  very  pale,  and  evidently  suffer- 
ing. They  placed  some  benches  near  the  fire,  removed  the 
bedding  and  disposed  her  as  comfortably  as  the  place  per- 
mitted. We  got  some  hot  milk  and  hard  bread,  threw  some 
reindeer  skins  on  the  vacant  truck,  and  lay  down,  but  not  1o 
uleep  nuch.  The  room  was  so  close  and  warm,  and  the 
dozen  persons  in  it  so  alternately  snoring  and  restless,  that 
our  rest  was  con  Liuualiy  disturbed.  We,  therefore,  rose  early 
11  id  aroused  the  lazy  natives. 

The  cold  was  still  at  47°  below  zero.  The  roads  were  so 
much  better,  however,  that  we  descended  again  to  our  own 
runners,  and  our  lively  horses  trotted  rapidly  down  the 
Torne'i.  The  signs  of  settlement  and  comparative  civilisa- 
tion which  nuw  increased  with  every  mile  were  really  cheer- 
iiu-  Part  of  our  way  lay  through  the  Swedish  woods  and 
over  the  intervening  mora.<se.s.  where  the  firs  were  hung  with 
weepers  of  black-green  moss,  and  stood  solid  and  silent  in 
their  mantles  of  snow,  lighted  with  a  magnificent  golden 
flush  at  sunrise.  The  morning  was  icy-clear  and  dazzling. 
There  was  not  the  least  warmth  in  the  sun's  rays,  but  it  was 
pleasant  to  see  him  with  a  white  face  once  more.  We  could 
still  stare  at  him  without  winking,  but  the  reflection  from  the 
jewelled  snow  pained  our  eyes.  The  ccld  was  so  keen  that 
we  were  obliged  to  keep  our  faces  buried  between  our  capa 
and  boas,  leaving  only  the  smallest  possible  vacancy  for  the 
eyes,  This  was  exceedingly  disagreeable,  on  account  of  the 
moisture  from  the  breath,  which  kept  the  squirrel  tails  con- 
stantly wet  and  sticky.  Nevertheless,  the  cold  penetrated 
through  the  little  aperture;  my  eyes  and  forehead  were  like 


170  NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 

marble,  the  eyeball-  like  lumps  of  ice,  sending  a  sharp  pang 
of  cold  backward  into  the  brain.  I  realised  distinctly  hon 
a  otatue  must  feel. 

Beyond  Pello,  where  we  stopped  to  '•'  fire  up,r  our  road 
lay  mostly  on  the  Russian  aide.  While  crossing  the  Tornea 
at  sunset,  we  met  a  drove  of  seventy  or  eighty  reindeer,  in 
charge  of  a  dozen  Lapps,  who  were  bringing  a  cargo  from 
Haparanda.  We  were  obliged  to  turn  off  the  road  and 
wait  until  they  had  passed.  The  landlord  at  Juoxengi,  who 
wa?  quite  drunk,  hailed  us  with  a  shout  and  a  laugh,  and 
began  talking  about  Kuutokeino.  We  had  some  difficulty 
in  getting  rid  of  his  conversation,  and  his  importunities  for 
us  to  stay  all  night.  This  was  the  place  where  they  tried 
to  make  us  leave,  on  the  way  up.  I  replied  to  the  landlord's 
torrent  of  Finnish  with  some  choice  specimens  of  Kentucky 
oratory,  which  seemed  to  make  but  little  impression  on  him. 
He  gave  us  excellent  horses,  however,  and  we  sped  away 
again,  by  the  light  of  another  brilliant  auroral  arch. 

Our  long  exposure  to  the  extreme  cold,  coupled  as  it  was 
with  lack  of  rest  and  nourishment,  now  began  to  tell  upon 
us.  Our  temperature  fell  so  low  that  we  again  had  recourse 
to  the  rum,  which  alone,  I  verily  believe,  prevented  us  from 
freezing  bodily.  One  is  locked  in  the  iron  embrace  of  the 
polar  air,  until  the  very  life  seems  to  be  squeezed  out  of  him. 
I  huddled  myself  in  my  pcesk,  worked  my  fingers  and  toes, 
buried  my  nose  in  the  damp,  frozen  fur,  and  laboured  like 
a  Hercules  to  keep  myself  awake  and  alive — but  almost 
in'  vain.  Braisted  and  I  kept  watch  over  each  other. 
or  attempted  it,  for  about  the  only  consciousness  either 
of  us  had  was  that  of  the  peril  of  falling  asleep.  Wo  talked 


EXPKKIKNCKS    OF   ARCTIC    WEATHER.  \f  \ 

of  anything  and  everything,  sang,  thumped  each  other,  but 
the  very  next  minute  would  catch  ourselves  falling  over  the 
side  of  the  sled.  A  thousand  dreams  worried  my  brain  and 
mixed  themselves  with  my  talk;  and  the  absurdities  thus 
created  helped  to  arouse  me.  Speaking  of  seeing  some 
wolves  in  the  woods  of  California,  I  gravely  continued  :  "  I 
took  out  ID  y  sword,  sharpened  it  on  the  grindstone  and  dared 
him  to  come  on,"  when  a  punch  in  the  ribs  stopped  me. 
Another  time',  while  talking  of  hippopotami  in  the  White 
Nile,  I  said :  "  If  you  want  any  skins,  you  must  go  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  They  have  a  depot  of  them  on 
Vancouver's  Tsland."  Braisted  gave  me  much  trouble,  by 
assuring  me  in  tbe  most  natural  wide-awake  voice  that  he 
was  not  in  the  least  sleepy,  when  the  reins  had  dropped  from 
his  hands  and  his  head  rocked  on  his  shoulder.  I  could 
never  be  certain  whether  he  was  asleep  or  awake.  Our  only 
plan  was  not  to  let  the  conversation  flag  a  minute. 

At  Torakankorwa  we  changed  horses  without  delay,  and 
hurried  on  to  Matarengi.  On  turning  out  of  the  road  to 
avoid  a  hay  sled,  we  were  whirled  completely  over.  There 
was  no  fun  in  this,  at  such  a  time.  I  fell  head  foremost 
into  deep  snow,  getting  a  lump  in  my  right  eye,  which  com- 
pletely blinded  me  for  a  time.  My  forehead,  eyebrows,  and 
the  bridge  of  my  nose  were  insufferably  painful.  On  reach- 
ing Matarengi  I  found  my  nose  frozen  through,  and  consid- 
erably swollen.  The  people  were  in  bed,  but  we  went  into 
the  kitchen,  where  a  dozen  or  more  were  stowed  about,  and 
sailed  for  the  landlord.  Three  young  girls,  who  were  ID 
bed  in  one  corner,  rose  and  dressed  themselves  in  our  pres- 
ence without  the  least  hesitation,  boiled  some  milk,  and  ga?« 


1/2  NORTHERN    TKAVi:!,. 

us  broad  and  butter.  We  had  a  single  small  bed,  which  kepi 
us  warm  by  obliging  us  to  lie  close.  Sometime  in  the 
night,  two  Swedes  arrived,  who  blustered  about  and  made 
BO  much  noise,  that  Braisted  finally  silenced  them  by  threat* 
D£  personal  violence,  delivered  in  very  good  English. 

In  the  morning  the  mercury  froze,  after  showing  49'  bt* 
*ow  zero.  The  cold  was  by  this  time  rather  alarming,  especi 
ally  after  our  experiences  of  the  previous  day.  The  air  was 
hazy  with  the  fine,  frozen  atoms  of  moisture,  a  raw  wind 
blew  from  the  north,  the  sky  was  like  steel  which  has  been 
breathed  upon — in  short,  the  cold  was  "visible  to  the  naked 
eye.  \Ye  warmed  our  gloves  and  boots,  and  swathed  our 
heads  so  completely  that  not  a  feature  was  to  be  seen.  I 
had  a  little  loophole  between  my  cap  and  boa,  but  it  was 
eoon  filled  up  with  frost  from  my  breath,  and  helped  to  keep 
in  the  warmth.  The  road  was  hard  and  smooth  as  marble. 
We  had  good  horses,  and  leaving  Avasaxa  and  the  polar  cir- 
cle behind  us,  we  sped  down  the  solid  bed  of  the  Tornea  to 
Niemis.  On  the  second  stage  we  began  to  freeze  for  want  of 
food.  The  air  was  really  terrible;  nobody  ventured  out  of 
doors  who  could  stay  in  the  house.  The  smoke  was  w hite 
and  dense,  like  steam;  the  wind  was  a  blast  from  the  IS 
man's  hell,  and  the  touch  of  it  on  your  face  almost  made  you 
icream.  Nothing  can  be  more  severe — flaying,  branding  with 
a  hot  iron,  cutting  with  a  dull  knife,  &c.,  may  be  something 
like  it,  but  no  worse. 

The  sun  rose  through  the  frozen  air  a  little  after  nine 
and  mounted  quite  high  at  noon.  At  Pfickilft  we  procured 
gome  hot  milk  and  smoked  reindeer,  tolerable  horses  and  i 
Btout  boy  of  fourteen  to  drive  our  baggage-sled.  Every  onr 


EXPERIENCES   OF   ARCTIC   WEATHER.  173 

we  met  had  a  face  either  frozen,  or  about  to  freeze.  Such  a 
Succession  of  countenances,  fiery  red,  purple,  blue,  olack  al 
most,  with  white  frost  spots,  and  surrounded  with  rings  oi 
icy  hair  and  fur.  1  never  saw  before.  We  thanked  God 
again  and  again  that  our  faces  were  turned  southward,  and 
that  the  deadly  wind  was  blowing  on  our  backs.  When  we 
reached  Korpykila,  our  boy's  face,  though  solid  and  greasy 
as  a  bag  of  lard,  was  badly  frozen.  His  nose  was  quite 
white  and  swollen,  as  if  blistered  by  fire,  ancl  there  were  fro- 
zen blotches  on  both  cheeks.  The  landlord  rubbed  the  parte 
instantly  with  rum,  and  performed  the  same  operation  on 
our  noses. 

On  this  day,  for  the  firpt  time  in  more  than  a  month,  we 
saw  daylight,  and  I  cannot  describe  how  cheering  was  the 
effect  of  those  pure,  white,  brilliant  rays,  in  spite  of  the  iron 
landscape  they  illumined.  It  was  no  longer  the  setting  light 
of  the  level  Arctic  sun ;  not  the  twilight  gleams  of  shifting 
colour,  beautiful,  but  dim  ;  not  the  faded,  mock  daylight 
which  sometimes  glimmered  for  a  half-hour  at  noon  ;  but 
the  true  white,  full,  golden  day,  which  we  had  almost  for- 
gotten. So  nearly,  indeed,  that  1  did  not  for  some  time  sus- 
pect the  cause  of  the  unusual  whiteness  and  brightness.  Its 
effect  upon  the  trees  was  superb.  The  twigs  of  the  birch 
and  the  needles  of  the  fir  were  coated  with  crystal,  and 
sparkled  like  jets  of  jewels  spouted  up  from  the  immaculate 
snow.  The  clumps  of  birches  can  be  compared  to  nothing 
but  frozen  fountains — frozen  in  full  action,  with  tlmr  show- 
ery sheaves  of  spray  arrested  Before  they  fell.  It  was  a  won- 
derful, a  fairy  w  .^rld  we  beheld — too  beautiful  to  be  lifeless^ 
but  ?verv  face  we  met  reminded  us  the  more  that  this  was 


174  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

Uie  chill  beauty  of  Death — of  dead  Nature,  Death  waa  in 
the  sparkling  air,  in  the  jewelled  trees,  in  the  spotless  snoir. 
Take  off  your  mitten,  and  his  hand  will  grasp  yours  like  a 
vice ;  uncover  your  mouth,  and  your  frozen  lips  will  soon 
acknowledge  his  kiss. 

Even  while  I  looked  the  same  icy  chills  were  running 
through  my  blood,  precursors  of  that  drowsy  torpor  which 
I  was  so  anxious  to  avoid.  But  no ;  it  would  come,  and  ] 
dozed  until  both  hands  became  so  stiff  that  it  was  barely 
possible  to  restore  their  powers  of  motion  and  feeling.  It 
was  not  quite  dark  when  we  reached  Kuckula,  the  last  sta- 
tion, but  thence  to  Haparanda  our  horses  were  old  and  lazy, 
and  our  postillion  was  a  little  boy,  whose  weak  voice  had  no 
effect.  Braisted  kept  his  hands  warm  in  jerking  and  urging, 
but  I  sat  and  froze.  Village  after  village  was  passed,  but 
we  looked  in  vain  for  the  lights  of  Tornea.  We  were 
thoroughly  exhausted  with  our  five  days'  battle  against  the 
dreadful  cold,  when  at  last  a  row  of  lights  gleamed  across 
the  river,  and  we  drove  up  to  the  inn.  The  landlord  met 
us  with  just  the  same  words  as  on  the  first  visit,  and.  strange 
enough,  put  us  into  the  same  room,  where  the  same  old 
Norrland  merchant  was  again  quartered  in  the  same  stage 
of  tipsiness.  The  kind  Fredrika  did  not  recognise  us  in 
our  Lapp  dresses,  until  I  had  unrobed,  when  she  cried  out  in 
joyful  surprise,  "  Why,  you  were  here  before!" 

We  had  been  so  completely  chilled  tnat  it  was  a  long 
time  before  any  perceptible  warmth  returned.     But  a  gener 
ous  meal,  with  a  bottle  of  what  was  called  "gammal  scherry1 
(though  the  Devil  and  his  servants,  the  manufacturers  of 
chemical  wine?,  only  knew  what  it  was), started  the  flagging 


EXPERIENCES    OF  ARCTIC    WEATHER.  175 

circulation.  We  then  went  to  bed,  tingling  and  stinging  in 
every  nerve  from  the  departing  cold.  Every  one  complained 
of  the  severity  of  the  weather,  which,  we  were  told,  had  not 
been  equalled  for  many  years  past.  But  such  a  bed,  and 
such  a  rest  as  I  had !  laying  between  clean  sheets,  with  my 
feet  buried  in  soft  fur,  I  wallowed  in  a  flood  of  downy,  deli 
cioua  sensations  until  sunrise.  In  the  morning  we  ventured 
to  wash  our  faces  and  brush  our  teeth  for  the  tirst  time  in 
five  days,  put  on  clean  shirts,  and  felt  once  more  like  re- 
sponsible beings.  The  natives  never  wash  when  the  weather 
is  so  cold,  and  cautioned  us  against  it.  The  wind  had  fallen 
out  the  mercury  again  froze  at  47°  below  zero.  Neverthe- 
less, we  went  out  after  breakfast  to  call  upon  Dr.  Wretholm, 
and  walk  over  the  Tornea. 

The  old  Doctor  was  overjoyed  to  see  us  again.  "  Ah  !" 
said  he,  "  it  is  a  good  fortune  that  you  have  got  back  alive. 
When  the  weather  was  so  cold,  I  thought  of  you,  travelling 
over  the  Norwegian  fjdler^  and  thought  you  must  certainly 
be  frozen  to  death."  His  wife  was  no  less  cordial  in  her 
welcome.  They  brought  us  ale  and  Swedish  punch,  with 
reindeer  cheese  for  our  frozen  noses,  and  insisted  on  having 
their  horse  put  into  the  sled  to  take  us  over  to  Tornea  and 
bring  us  back  to  dinner.  The  doctor's  boy  drove  us,  facing 
the  wind  with  our  faces  exposed,  at  — 42°,  but  one  night's 
rest  and  good  food  enabled  us  to  bear  it  without  inconveni- 
ence. Tornea  is  a  plain  Swedish  town,  more  compactly 
built  than  Haparanda,  yet  scarcely  larger.  The  old  church 
is  rather  picturesque,  and  there  were  some  tolerable  houses 
which  appeared  to  be  government  buildings,  but  the  onlj 
things  particularly  Russian  which  we  noticed  were  a  COP- 


J76  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

Back  sentry,  whose  purple  face  showed  that  he  was  nearl) 
frozen,  and  a  guide-post  with  "  150  versts  to  Uleabor^" 
upon  it.  On  returning  to  the  Doctor's  we  found  a  meal 
ready,  with  a  capital  salad  of  frozen  salmon,  bouillon,  ale 
and  coffee.  The  family  were  reading  the  Swedish  transla- 
tion of  "  Dred"  in  the  Aftonblad,  and  were  interested  in 
hearing  some  account  of  Mrs.  Beech er  Stowe.  We  had  a 
most  agreeable  and  interesting  visit  to  these  kind,  simple- 
hearted  people. 

I  made  a  sunset  sketch  of  Tornea.  I  proposed  also  t& 
draw  Fredrika,  but  she  at  once  refused,  in  great  alarm. 
"  Not  for  anything  in  the  world,"  said  she,  "  would  I  have  it 
done  !"  What  superstitious  fears  possessed  her  I  could  not 
discover.  We  made  arrangements  to  start  for  Kalix  the  next 
day,  on  our  way  to  Stockholm.  The  extreme  temperature 
still  continued.  The  air  was  hazy  with  the  frozen  moisture 
— the  smoke  froze  in  solid  masses — the  snow  was  brittlv  and 
hard  as  metal — iron  stuck  like  glue — in  short,  none  of  tht 
signs  of  an  Arctic  winter  were  wanting.  Nevertheless,  we 
trusted  to  the  day's  rest  and  fatter  fare  on  the  road  £31 
strength  to  continue  the  battle. 


UTCIDEXT?  OF  THE  RETURN   JOVHRNEY 


CHAPTER    XV. 

INCIDENTS    OF    THE    RETURN    JOURNEY. 

WE  left  Haparanda  on  the  30th  of  January.  After  six 
days  of  true  Arctic  weather — severer  than  any  registered  by 
De  Haven's  expedition,  during  a  winter  in  the  polar  ice — 
the  temperature  rose  suddenly  to  26°  below  zero  We  were 
happy  and  jolly  at  getting  fairly  started  for  Stockholm  at 
last,  a  id  having  such  mild  (!)  weather  to  travel  in.  The 
liffcrence  in  our  sensations  was  remarkable.  We  could 
boldly  bare  our  faces  and  look  about  us;  our  feet  kept  warm 
and  glowing,  and  we  felt  no  more  the  hazardous  chill  and 
torpor  of  the  preceding  days.  On  the  second  stage  the 
winter  road  crossed  an  arm  of  the  Bothnian  Gulf.  The 
path  was  well  marked  out  with  fir-trees — a  pretty  avenue, 
four  or  five  miles  in  length,  over  the  broad,  white  plain. 
On  the  way  we  saw  an  eruption  of  the  ice,  which  had  been 
violently  thrown  up  by  the  confined  air.  Masses  three  feet 
thick  and  solid  as  granite  were  burst  asunder  and  piled  atop 
of  each  other. 

We  travelled  too  fast  this  day  for  the  proper  enjoymen 
of  the  wonderful  scenery  on  the  road.  I  thought  I  had  ex- 
hausted my  admiration  of  these  winter  forests — but  no, 


J78  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

miracles  will  never  cease.  Such  fountains,  candelabra 
Gothic  pinnacles,  tufts  of  plumes,  colossal  sprays  of  coral, 
and  the  embodiments  of  the  fairy  pencillings  of  frost  on 
window  panes,  wrought  in  crystal  and  silver,  are  beyond  the 
power  of  pen  or  pencil.  It  was  a  wilderness  of  beauty  •,  we 
knew  not  where  to  look,  nor  which  forms  to  choose,  in  the 
dazzling  confusion.  Silent  and  all  unmoved  by  the  wind 
they  stood,  sharp  and  brittle  as  of  virgin  ore — not  trees  of 
earth,  but  the  glorified  forests  of  All-Father  Odin's  paradise, 
the  celestial  city  of  Asgaard.  No  living  forms  of  vegetation 
are  so  lovely.  Tropical  palms,  the  tree-ferns  of  Penang,  the 
lotus  of  Indian  rivers,  the  feathery  bamboo,  the  arrowy  areca 
— what  are  they  beside  these  marvellous  growths  of  winter, 
these  shining  sprays  of  pearl,  ivory  and  opal,  gleaming  in 
the  soft  orange  light  of  the  Arctic  sun  ? 

At  Sftngis  we  met  a  handsome  young  fellow  with  a  mous- 
tache, who  proved  to  be  the  Lansman  of  Kalix.  I- was 
surprised  to  find  that  he  knew  all  about  us.  He  wondered 
at  our  coming  here  north,  when  we  might  stay  at  home 
thought  once  would  be  enough  for  us,  and  had  himself  been 
no  further  than  Stockholm.  I  recognised  our  approach  to 
Nisby  by  the  barrels  set  in  the  snow — an  ingenious  plan  of 
ii  arking  the  road  in  places  where  the  snow  drifts,  as  the 
wind  creates  a  whirl  or  eddy  around  them.  We  were  fflad 

•• 

to  see  Nftsby  and  its  two-story  inn  once  more.  The  pleasant 
little  hand-maiden  smiled  all  over  her  face  when  she  saw  us 
again.  N  fishy  is  a  crack  place:  the  horses  were  ready  at 
once,  and  fine  creatures  they  were,  taking  us  up  the  Kalix 
to  Mansbyn.  eight  miles  in  one  hour.  The  road  was  hard 
as  a  rock  and  smooth  as  a  table,  from  much  ploughing  and 
rolling 


txcmr.xrs  OF  THE  RETURN  JOURNEY.  17t 

The  next  day  was  dark  and  lowering,  threateniLg  snow, 
trith  a  raw  wind  from  the  north-west,  and  an  average  tem- 
perature of  15°  below  zero.  We  turned  the  north-western 
corner  of  the  Bothnian  Gulf  in  the  afternoon,  and  pushed 
on  to  Old  Lulea  by  supper-time.  At  Persd,  on  the  journey 
north,  I  had  forgotten  rny  cigar-case,  an  old,  familiar  friend 
of  some  years'  standing,  and  was  overjoyed  to  find  that  the 
servant-girl  had  carefully  preserved  it,  thinking  I  might 
return  some  day.  We  drove  through  the  streets  of  empty 
stables  and  past  the  massive  church  of  Old  Lulea,  to  the  inn, 
where  we  had  before  met  the  surly  landlord.  There  he  was 
again,  and  the  house  was  full,  as  the  first  time.  However 
we  obtained  the  promise  of  a  bed  in  the  large  room,  and 
meanwhile  walked  up  and  down  to  keep  ourselves  warm. 
The  guests'  rooms  were  filled  with  gentlemen  of  the  neigh 
borhood,  smoking  and  carousing1.  After  an  hour  had  passed, 
a  tall,  handsome,  strong  fellow  came  out  of  the  rooms,  and 
informed  us  that  as  we  were  strangers  he  would  give  up  the 
room  to  us  and  seek  lodgings  elsewhere.  He  had  drunk  just 
enough  to  be  mellow  and  happy,  and  insisted  on  delaying  his 
own  supper  to  let  us  eat  first.  Who  should  come  along  at 
this  juncture  but  the  young  fellow  we  had  seen  in  company 
with  Brother  Horton  at  Mansbyn,  who  hailed  us  with : 
"Thank  you  for  the  last  time!"  With  him  was  a  very 
gentlemanly  man  who  spoke  English.  They  were  both  ac- 
companied by  ladies,  and  were  returning  from  the  ball  of 
Pitea.  The  guests  all  treated  us  with  great  courtesy  and 
respect,  and  the  landlord  retired  and  showed  his  surly  face 
no  more.  Our  first  friend  informed  me  that  he  had  been 
born  and  brought  up  in  the  neighborhood,  but  conld  not  re 
collect  such  a  severe  winter. 


ISO  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

As  we  descended  upon  the  Lulea  River  in  the  morning  wt 
met  ten  sleighs  coining  from  the  ball.  The  horses  were  all 
in  requisition  at  the  various  stations,  but  an  extra  supply 
had  been  provided,  and  we  were  not  detained  anywhere 
The  Norrland  sleds  are  so  long  that  a  man  may  place  his 
baggage  in  the  front  part  and  lie  down  at  full  length  behind 
it.  A  high  back  shields  the  traveller  from  the  wind,  and 
upon  a  step  in  the  rear  stands  the  driver,  with  a  pair  of  rein 
as  long  as  a  main-top-bowline,  in  order  to  reach  the  horse, 
who  is  at  the  opposite  end  of  a  very  long  pair  of  shafts.  In 
these  sleds  one  may  travel  with  much  comfort,  and  less  dan- 
ger of  overturning,  though  not  so  great  speed  as  in  the  short, 
light,  open  frames  we  bought  in  Sundsvall.  The  latter  are 
seldom  seen  so  far  north,  and  were  a  frequent  object  oi 
curiosity  to  the  peasants  at  the  stations.  There  is  also  a 
eled  with  a  body  something  like  a  Hansom  cab.  entirely 
closed,  with  a  window  in  front,  but  they  are  heavy,  easily 
overturned,  and  only  fit  for  luxurious  travellers. 

We  approached  Pitea  at  sunset.  The  view  over  the  broad 
embouchure  of  the  river,  studded  with  islands,  was  quite 
picturesque,  and  the  town  itself,  scattered  along  the  shore 
and  over  the  slopes  of  the  hills  made  a  fair  appearance.  It 
reminded  me  somewhat  of  a  small  New-England  country 
town,  with  its  square  frame  houses  and  an  occasional  garden 
Here  1  was  rejoiced  by  the  sight  of  a  cherry-tree,  the  most 
northern  fruit-tree  which  I  saw.  On  our  way  up,  we  thought 
Pitea,  at  night  and  in  a  snow-storm,  next  door  to  the  North 
Pole.  Now,  coming  from  the  north,  seeing  its  snowy  hills 
and  hou-ie-roofs  rosy  with  the  glow  of  sunset,  it  was  warm 
and  southern  by  contrast.  The  four  principal  towns  of 


INCIDENTS  OF  THE  RETURN  JOURNEY.  J81 

West  and  North  Bothnia  are  thus  characterised  in  an  old 
verse  of  Swedish  doggerel :  Umea,  the  fine  •  Pitea,  t/it 
tieedlc-makin£f ;  Lulea,  the  lazy  ;  and  in  Tornea,  every- 
body gets  drunk. 

We  took  some  refreshment,  pushed  on  and  reached  Abyn 
between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  having  travelled  seventy  miles 
since  morning.  The  sleighing  was  superb.  How  1  longed 
for  a  -lashing  American  cutter,  with  a  spun  of  fast  horses,  a 
dozen  strings  of  bells  and  an  ebony  driver !  Such  a  turn- 
out would  rather  astonish  the  northern  solitudes,  and  the 
slew,  quaint  northern  population  The  next  day  we  had  a 
temperature  of  2°  above  zero,  with  snow  falling,  but  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  Skelleftea  for  breakfast.  For  the  last 
two  or  three  miles  we  travelled  along  a  hill  side  overlooking 
a  broad,  beautiful  valley,  cleared  and  divided  into  cultivated 
fields,  and  thickly  sprinkled  with  villages  and  farm-houses. 
Skelleftea  itself  made  an  imposing  appearance,  as  the  lofty 
dome  of  its  Grecian  church  came  in  sight  around  the  shoul- 
der of  the  hill.  We  took  the  wrong  road,  and  in  turning 
about  split  one  of  our  shafts,  but  Braisted  served  it  with 
some  spare  rope,  using  the  hatchet-handle  as  a  marlin^spike, 
BO  that  it  held  stoutly  all  the  rest  of  the  way.  to  Stock- 
holm. 

We  went  on  to  Burea  that  night,  and  the  next  day  to 
Djeknebodu,  sixty  miles  farther.  The  temperature  fluctu- 
ated about  the  region  of  zero,  with  a  heavy  sky  and  light 
snow-falls.  As  we  proceeded  southward  the  forests  became 
larger,  and  the  trees  began  to  show  a  dark  green  foliage 
where  the  wind  had  blown  away  the  snow,  which  was  re- 
freshing to  see,  after  the  black  or  dark  indigo  hue  they  woai 
9 


182  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

farther  north.  On  the  4th  of  February,  at  noon,  we  pass- 
ed through  Umea,  and  congratulated  ourselves  on  getting 
below  the  southern  limit  of  the  Lapland  climate.  There 
is  nothing  to  say  about  these  towns ;  they  are  mere  village* 
with  less  than  a  thousand  inhabitants  each,  and  no  peculia. 
interest,  either  local  or  historical,  attaching  to  any  of  them 
We  have  slept  in  Lulea,  and  Pitea,  and  dined  in  Umea, — 
and  further  my  journal  saith  not. 

The  5th,  however,  was  a  day  to  be  noticed.  We  started 
from  Angersjo,  with  a  violent  snow  storm  blowing  in  our 
teeth — thermometer  at  zero.  Our  road  entered  the  hilly 
country  of  Norrland,  where  we  found  green  forests,  beauti- 
ful little  dells,  pleasant  valleys,  and  ash  and  beech  inter- 
mingled with  the  monotonous  but  graceful  purple  birch. 
We  were  overwhelmed  with  gusts  of  fine  snow  shaken  from 
the  trees  as  we  passed.  Blinding  white  clouds  swept  the 
road,  and  once  again  we  heard  the  howl  of  the  wind  among 
boughs  that  were  free  to  toss.  At  Afwa,  which  we  reached 
at  one  o'clock,  we  found  a  pale,  weak,  sickly  young  Swede, 
with  faded  moustaches,  who  had  decided  to  remain  there 
until  next  day.  This  circumstance  induced  us  to  go  on, 
but  after  we  had  waited  half  an  hour  and  were  preparing  to 
start,  the  weather  being  now  ten  times  worse  than  before,  he 
announced  his  resolution  to  start  also.  He  had  drunk  four 
large  glasses  of  milk  and  two  cups  of  coffee  during  the 
half  hour. 

We  went  ahead,  breaking  through  drifts  of  loose  snow 
which  overtopped  our  sleds,  and  lashed  by  the  furious  wind, 
which  drove  full  in  our  faces.  There  were  two  or  thre« 
plows  at  work  but  we  had  no  benefit  from  them,  so  long  afl 


INCIDENTS  OF  THE  RETCRN  JOURNEY.  183 

we  were  not  directly  in  their  wake.  Up  and  down  went 
our  way,  over  dark  hills  and  through  valleys  wild  with  the 
storm,  and  ending  in  chaos  as  they  opened  toward  the  Both- 
nian  Gulf.  Hour  after  hour  passed  by,  the  storm  still  in- 
creased, and  the  snow  beat  in  our  eyes  so  that  we  were  com- 
pletely blinded.  It  was  impossible  to  keep  them  open,  and 
yet  the  moment  we  shut  them  the  lashes  began  to  freeze  to- 
gether. I  had  a  heavy  weight  of  ice  on  my  lids,  and  long 
icicles  depending  from  every  corner  of  my  beard.  Yet  our 
frozen  noses  appeared  to  be  much  improved  by  the  exposure, 
and  began  to  give  promise  of  healing  without  leaving  a  red 
blotch  as  a  lasting  record  of  what  they  had  endured.  We 
finally  gave  up  all  attempts  to  see  or  to  guide  the  horse,  hut 
plunged  along  at  random  through  the  chaos,  until  the  pos- 
tillion piloted  our  baggage-sled  into  the  inn-yard  of  Onska, 
and  our  horse  followed  it.  The  Swede  was  close  upon  our 
heels,  but  I  engaged  a  separate  room,  so  that  we  were  freed 
from  the  depressing  influence  of  his  company.  He  may  have 
been  the  best  fellow  in  the  world,  so  far  as  his  heart  was  con- 
cerned, but  was  too  weak  in  the  knees  to  be  an  agreeable  as- 
sociate. There  was  no  more  stiffness  of  fibre  in  him  than  in 
a  wet  towel,  and  I  would  as  soon  wear  a  damp  shirt  as  live 
in  the  same  room  with  such  a  man.  After  all,  it  is  not 
strange  that  one  prefers  nerve  and  energy,  even  when  they 
"are  dashed  with  a  flavour  of  vice,  to  the  negative  virtues  'A 
a  character  too  weak  and  insipid  to  be  tempted. 

Our  inn,  in  this  little  Norrland  village,  was  about  aa 
comfortable  and  as  elegant  as  three-fourths  of  the  hotels  in 
Stockholm.  The  rooms  were  well  furnished ;  none  of  the 
usual  appliances  were  wanting;  the  attendance  was  all  thai 


184  NORTHERN    TRAVK1,. 

aould  be  desired  ;  the  fare  good  and  abundant,  and  the 
charges  less  than  half  of  what  would  be  demanded  in  the 
capital.  Yet  Stockholm,  small  as  it  is,  claims  to  be  for 
Sweden  what  Paris  is  to  France,  and  its  inhabitants  look 
with  an  eye  of  compassion  on  those  of  the  provinces.  Norr* 
land,  in  spite  of  its  long  winter,  has  a  bracing,  healthy  cli- 
mate, and  had  it  not  been  for  letters  from  home,  facilities 
tor  studying  Swedish,  occasional  recreation  and  the  other 
attractions  of  a  capital.  I  should  have  preferred  waiting  in 
some  of  those  wild  valleys  for  the  spring  to  open.  The  peo- 
ple, notwithstanding  their  seclusion  from  the  world,  have  a 
brighter  and  more  intelligent  look  than  the  peasants  of  Upp- 
land,  and  were  there  a  liberal  system  of  common  school  edu- 
cation in  Sweden,  the  raw  material  here  might  be  worked 
up  into  products  alike  honourable  and  useful  to  the  coun- 
try. 

The  Norrlanders  seem  to  me  to  possess  an  indolent,  al- 
most phlegmatic  temperament,  and  yet  there  are  few  who  do 
not  show  a  latent  capacity  for  exertion.  The  latter  trait, 
perhaps,  is  the  true  core  and  substance  of  their  nature;  the 
former  is  an  overgrowth  resulting  from  habits  and  circum- 
stances. Like  the  peasants,  or  rather  small  farmers,  further 
north,  they  are  exposed  to  the  risk  of  seeing  their  summer's 
labours  rendered  fruitless  by  a  single  night  of  frost.  Such 
i  catastrophe,  which  no  amount  of  industry  and  foresight 
can  prevent,  recurring  frequently  (perhaps  once  in  three 
years  on  an  average^,  makes  them  indifferent,  if  not  reek- 
lees;  while  that  patience  and  cheerfulness  which  is  an  in- 
tegral part  of  the  Scandinavian  as  of  the  Saxon  character, 
renders  them  contented  and  unrepining  under  such  lepeated 


INCIDENTS  OP  THE  RETURN  JOURNEY.  Ig5 

Jisappointments.  There  is  the  stuff  here  for  a  noble  peo« 
pie,  although  nature  and  a  long  course  of  neglect  and  mis- 
rule have  done  their  best  to  destroy  it. 

The  Norrlanders  live  simply,  perhaps  frugally,  but  there 
seems  to  be  little  real  destitution  among  them.  We  saw 
sometimes  in  front  of  a  church,  a  representation  of  a  beg- 
gar with  his  hat  in  his  hand,  under  which  was  an  iron  box, 
with  an  appeal  to  travellers  to  drop  something  in  for  the 
poor  of  the  parish ;  but  of  actual  beggars  we  found  none. 
The  houses,  although  small,  are  warm  and  substantial,  mostly 
with  double  windows,  and  a  little  vestibule  in  front  of  the 
door,  to  create  an  intermediate  temperature  between  the 
outer  and  inner  air.  The  beds,  even  in  many  of  the  inns, 
are  in  the  family  room,  but  during  the  day  are  either  con- 
verted into  sofas  or  narrow  frames  which  occupy  but  little 
space.  At  night,  the  bedstead  is  drawn  out  to  the  required 
breadth,  single  or  double,  as  may  be  desired.  The  family 
room  is  always  covered  with  a  strong  home-made  rag  car- 
pet, the  walls  generally  hung  with  colored  prints  and  litho- 
graphs, illustrating  religion  or  royalty,  and  as  many  green- 
house plants  as  the  owner  can  afford  to  decorate  the  windows. 
I  have  seen,  even  beyond  Umea,  some  fine  specimens  of  c  ic- 
tus, pelargonium,  calla,  and  other  exotics.  It  is  singular 
that,  with  the  universal  passion  of  the  Swedes  for  flo'.vera 
and  for  music,  they  have  produced  no  distinguished  painten 
or  composers — but,  indeed,  a  Linnaeus. 

We  spent  the  evening  cosily  in  the  stately  inn's  best  room, 
with  its  white  curtains,  polished  floor,  and  beds  of  sumptuous 
linen.  The  great  clipper-plows  were  out  early  in  the  morn- 
ing,  to  cut  a  path  through  the  drifts  of  the  storm,  but  it  wai 


(gfi  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

nearly  noon  before  the  road  was  sufficiently  cleared  to  ena- 
ble us  to  travel.  The  temperature,  by  contrast  with  what 
we  had  so  recently  endured,  seemed  almost  tropical — actually 
25°  above  zero,  with  a  soft,  southern  breeze,  and  patches  oi 
brilliant  blue  sky  between  the  parting  clouds.  Our  deliy* 
erance  from  the  Arctic  cold  was  complete. 


CONCLUSION    OF    THE    ARCTIC    TRIP.  187 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

CONCLUSION    OF    THF,    A11CT1C    TRIP. 

ON  leaving  Onska,  we  cxprriciiL-c*!  ron-idrraMc  delay  on 
account  of  the  storm.  The  roads  were  drifted  to  such  an 
extent  that  even  the  ploughs  could  not  be  passed  through  in 
many  places,  and  the  peasants  were  obliged  to  work  with  their 
broad  wooden  spades.  The  sky,  however,  was  wholly  clear 
and  of  a  pure  daylight  blue,  such  as  we  had  not  seen  for 
two  months.  The  sun  rode  high  in  the  firmament,  like  a 
t-trong  healthy  sun  again,  with  some  warmth  in  his  beams 
as  they  struck  our  faces,  and  the  air  was  all  mildness  and 
balm.  It  was  heavenly,  after  our  Arctic  life.  The  country, 
too,  boldly  undulating,  with  fir-forested  hills,  green  and 
warm  in  the  sunshine,  and  wild,  picturesque  valleys  sunk 
between,  shining  in  their  covering  of  snow,  charmed  us  com 
pletely.  Again  we  saw  the  soft  blue  of  the  distant  ranges 
as  they  melted  away  behind  each  other,  suggesting  space, 
and  light,  and  warmth.  Give  me  daylight  and  sunshine, 
after  all !  Our  Arctic  trip  seems  like  a  long,  long  night 
full  of  splendid  dreams,  but  yet  night  and  not  day. 

On  the  road,  we  bought  a  quantity  of  the  linen  handker 
duels  of  the  country,  at  prices  varying  from  twenty-five  to 


J<Sg  NORTH KKX    TKAVEU 

forty  cents  a  piece,  according  to  the  size  and  quality.  Th« 
bedding,  in  all  the  inns,  was  of  home-made  linen,  and  I  do 
not  recollect  an  instance  where  it  was  not  brought  out,  fresh 
and  sweet  from  the  press,  for  us  In  this,  as  in  all  other 
household  arrangements,  the  people  are  very  tidy  and  cleanly 
though  a  little  deficient  as  regards  their  own  persons.  Theit 
clothing,  however,  is  of  a  healthy  substantial  character,  and 
the  women  consult  comfort  rather  than  ornament.  Many 
of  them  wear  cloth  pantaloons  under  their  petticoats,  which, 
therefore,  they  are  able  to  gather  under  their  arms  in  wading 
through  snow-drifts.  1  did  not  see  a  lo\v-necked  dress  or  a 
thin  shoe  north  of  Stockholm. 

"  The  damsel  who  trips  at  daybreak 
Is  shod  like  a  mountaineer." 

Yet  a  sensible  man  would  sooner  take  such  a  damsel  to  wife 
than  any  delicate  Cinderella  of  the  ball-room.  I  protest  I 
lose  all  patience  when  I  think  of  the  habits  of  our  .Ameri- 
can women,  especially  our  country  girls.  If  ever  the  Saxon 
race  does  deteriorate  on  our  side  of  the  Atlantic,  as  some 
ethnologists  anticipate,  it  will  be  whrflly  their  fault. 

We  stopped  for  the  night  at  Hornas,  and  had  a  charming 
ride  the  next  day  among  the  hills  and  along  the  inlets  of  the 
Gulf.  The  same  bold,  picturesque  scenery,  which  had  ap- 
peared so  dark  and  forbidding  to  us  on  our  way  north,  now, 
under  the  spring-like  sky,  cheered  and  inspired  us.  At  the 
station  of  Docksta,  we  found  the  peasant  girls  scrubbing 
the  outer  steps,  barefooted.  At  night,  we  occupied  our  old 
quarters  at  \Veda,  on  the  Angermann  river.  The  next  morn- 
ing the  temperature  was  25°  above  zero,  and  at  noon  rose  tc 
39'.  It  was  delightful  to  travel  once  more  with  cap-lappet* 


CONCLUSION    OF    THE    ARCTIC    TRIP.  189 

turned  up,  fur  collar  turned  down,  face  and  neck  free,  and 
hand*  bare.  On  our  second  stage  we  had  an  overgrown,  in- 
Bolent  boy  for  postillion,  who  persisted  in  driving  slow,  and 
refused  to  let  us  pass  him.  He  finally  became  impertinent, 
whereupon  Braisted  ran  forward  and  turned  his  horse  out 
of  the  road,  so  that  I  could  drive  past.  The  boy  then  seized 
my  horse  by  the  head;  B.  pitched  him  into  a  snow-bank, 
and  we  took  the  lead.  We  had  not  gone  far  before  we  took 
the  road  to  Hernosand,  through  mistake,  and  afterwards 
kept  it  through  spite,  thus  adding  about  seven  miles  to  our 
day's  journey.  A  stretch  of  magnificent  dark-green  forest* 
brought  us  to  a  narrow  strait  which  separates  the  island  of 
Hernosand  from  the  main  land.  The  ice  was  already  soft- 
ening, and  the  upper  layer  repeatedly  broke  through 
under  us. 

Hernosand  is  a  pretty  town,  of  about  2000  inhabitants, 
with  a  considerable  commerce.  It  is  also  the  capital  of  the 
most  northern  bi.-hopric  of  Sweden.  The  church,  on  an 
eminence  above  the  town,  is,  next  to  that  of  Skeleftea,  the 
finest  we  saw  in  the  north.  We  took  a  walk  while  break- 
fast was  preparing,  and  in  the  space  of  twenty  minutes  saw 
all  there  was  to  be  seen.  By  leaving  the  regular  road,  how- 
ever, we  had  incurred  a  delay  of  two  hours,  which  did  not 
add  to  our  amiability.  Therefore,  when  the  postillion,  fu- 
riously angry  now  as  well  as  insolent,  came  in  to  threaten  ua 
with  legal  prosecution  in  case  we  did  not  pay  him  heavy 
damages  fur  what  he  called  an  assault,  I  cut  the  discussior 
short  by  driving  him  out  of  the  room,  and  that  was  the  last 
we  saw  of  him.  We  readied  Fjiil  as  the  moon  rose, — a 
globe  of  silver  fire  in  a  perfect  violet  sky.  Two  merry  boyg. 


19(j  NORTH EKN   TRAVEL. 

who  sang  ajd  shouted  the  whole  way,  drove  us  like  tins 
wind  around  the  bay  to  Wifsta.  The  moonlight  was  as 
bright  as  the  Arctic  noonday,  and  the  snowy  landscape  flash- 
ed and  glittered  under  its  resplendent  shower.  From  the 
last  hill  we  saw  Sundsvall,  which  lay  beneath  us,  with  its 
wintry  roofs,  like  a  city  of  ivory  and  crystal,  shining  for 
os  with  the  fairy  promise  of  a  warm  supper  and  a  good 
bed. 

On  the  9th,  we  drove  along  the  shores  of  the  magnificent 
bay  of  Sundsvall.  Six  vessels  lay  frozen  in,  at  a  consider- 
able distance  from  the  town.  Near  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  bay,  we  passed  the  village  of  Svartvik,  which,  the 
postillion  informed  us,  is  all  owned  by  one  person,  who  car- 
ries on  ship-building.  The  appearance  of  the  place  justifi- 
ed his  statements.  The  labourers'  houses  were  mostly  new, 
all  built  on  precisely  the  same  model,  and  with  an  unusual  air 
of  comfort  and  neatness.  In  the  centre  of  the  village  stood 
a  handsome  white  church,  with  a  clock  tower,  and  near  it  the 
parsonage  and  school-house.  At  the  foot  of  the  slope  were 
the  yards,  where  several  vessels  were  on  the  stocks,  and  a 
number  of  sturdy  workmen  busy  at  their  several  tasks. 
There  was  an  air  df  "associated  labour"  and  the  "model 
.lodging-house"  about  the  whole  place,  which  was  truly  re- 
freshing to  behold,  except  a  touch  of  barren  utilitarianism 
in  the  cutting  away  of  the  graceful  firs  left  fro.n  the  forest 
and  thus  depriving  the  houses  of  all  shade  and  ornament 
We  met  many  wood-teams,  hauling  knees  and  spars,  and 
were  sorely  troubled  to  get  out  of  their  way.  Beyond  the 
bay,  the  hills  of  Norrland  ceased,  sinking  into  those  broad 
monotonous  undulations  which  extend  nearly  all  the  way  to 


rONPI.USION    OF     PHK    ARCTIC    TRIP.  191 

Stockholm.  Gardens  with  thriving  fruit-trees  now  began 
to  be  more  frequent,  giving  evidence  of  a  climate  where  mat 
has  a  right  to  live.  I  doubt  whether  it  was  ever  meant  that 
the  human  race  should  settle  in  any  zone  so  frigid  that  fruit 
cannot  ripen. 

Thenceforth  we  had  the  roughest  roads  which  were  ever 
mado  upon   a  foundation  of  snow.     The  increase  in  travel 
and  in  tne   temperature  of  the  air,  and   most  of   all,  the 
short,  loosely-attached  sleds  used  to  support  the  ship-timber, 
had  worn   them    into  a  succession  of  holes,  channels,  and 
troughs,  in  and  out  of  which  we  thumped  from  morning  till 
night.     On  going  down   hill,  the  violent  shocks  frequently 
threw  our  runners  completely  into  the  air,  and  the  wrench 
was  so  great  that  it  was  a  miracle  how  the  sled  escaped  frac- 
ture.    All  the  joints,  it  is  true,  began  to  work  apart,  and  the 
ash  shafts  bent  in  the  most  ticklish  way  ;  but  the  rough  lit- 
tle conveyance  which  had  already  done  us  such  hard  service 
held  out  gallantly  to  the  end.     We  reached  Mo  Myskie  on 
the  second  night  after  leaving  Sundsvall,  and  I  was  greeted 
with    u  Salaam  al&koom,  yet  ft'ulif"   from   the  jolly  old 
Tripolitan   landlord.     There  was  an   unusual   amount  of 
travel  northward  on  the  following  d-.ty.  ;  nd  we  were  detain- 
ed at  every  station,  so   that  it  was  nearly   midnight  before 
we  reached  the  extortionate  inn   at  Gefte.     The  morning 
dawned  with  a  snow-storm,  but  we  were  within  120  miles  of 
Stockholm,  and  drove  in  the  teeth  of  it  to  Elfkarleby.  The 
renowned  cascades  of  the  Dal  were  by  no  means  what  I  ex- 
pected, but  ir  was  at  least  a  satisfaction  to  see  living  water, 
after  the  silent  rivers  and  filtered  rapids  of  the  North. 
The  snow  was  now  getting   rapidly  thinner.     So  scant 


[92  XORTHKRX    TRAVEL. 

was  it  on  the  exposed  Upsala  plain  that  we  fully  ixpected 
being  obliged  to  leave  our  sleds  on  the  way.  Even  before 
reaching  Upsala,  our  postillions  chose  the  less-travelled 
Seld-roads  whenever  they  led  in  the  same  direction,  and 
beyond  that  town  we  were  charged  additional  post-money 
for  the  circuits  we  were  obliged  to  make  to  keep  our  runners 
on  the  snow.  On  the  evening  of  the  13th  we  reached 
Rotebro,  only  fourteen  miles  from  Stockholm,  and  the  next 
morning,  in  splendid  sunshine,  drove  past  Haga  park  and 
palace,  into  the  Worth-Gate,  down  the  long  Drottninggatan 
and  up  to  Kahn's  Hotel,  where  we  presented  our  sleds  to 
the  valet-de-placc,  pulled  off  our  heavy  boots,  threw  aside 
our  furs  for  the  remainder  of  the  winter,  and  sat  down  to 
read  the  pile  of  letters  and  papers  which  Herr  Kahn  brought 
us.  It  was  precisely  two  months  since  our  departure  in 
December,  and  in  that  time  we  had  performed  a  journey  of 
2200  miles,  250  of  which  were  by  reindeer,  and  nearly  500 
inside  of  the  Arctic  Circle.  Our  frozen  noses  had  peeled 
off,  and  the  new  skin  showed  no  signs  of  the  damage  they 
had  sustained — so  that  we  had  come  out  of  the  fight  not 
only  without  a  scar,  but  with  a  marked  increase  of  robust 
vitality. 

I  must  conftss,  however,  that,  interesting  as  was  the 
journey,  and  hnppily  as  we  endured  its  exposures,  I  should 
not  wish  to  make  it  again.  It  is  well  to  see  the  North,  even 
after  the  South ;  but,  as  there  is  no  one  who  visits  the 
tropics  without  longing  ever  after  to  return  again,  so,  I  im- 
^giiiL-,  there  is  no  one  who,  having  once  seen  a  winter  inside 
the  Arctic  Circle,  would  ever  wish  to  see  another.  In  spite 
uf  the  warn:,  gor^t  on-,  and  over-changing  play  of  colour 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  ARCTIC  TRIP.  193 

hovering  over  the  path  of  the  unseen  sun,  in  spite  of  the 
dazzling  auroral  dances  and  the  magical  transfiguration  oi 
the  forests,  the  absence  of  true  daylight  and  of  all  signs  ol 
warmth  and  life  exercises  at  last  a  depressing  influence  on 
the  spirits.  The  snow,  so  beautiful  while  the  sunrise  setting 
illumination  lasts,  wears  a  ghastly  monotony  at  all  other 
times,  and  the  air,  so  exhilarating,  even  at  the  lowest  tem- 
perature, becomes  an  enemy  to  be  kept  out,  when  you  know 
its  terrible  power  to  benumb  and  destroy.  To  the  native  of 
a  warmer  zone,  this  presence  of  an  unseen  destructive  force 
in  nature  weighs  like  a  nightmare  upon  the  mind  The 
inhabitants  of  the  North  also  seem  to  undergo  a  species  of 
hibernation,  as  well  as  the  animals.  Nearly  half  their  time 
is  passed  in  sleep ;  they  are  silent  in  comparison  with  the 
natives  of  the  other  parts  of  the  world ;  there  is  little  ex- 
uberant gaiety  and  cheerfulness,  but  patience,  indifference, 
apathy  almost.  Aspects  of  nature  which  appear  to  be  hos- 
tile to  man,  often  develop  and  bring  into  play  his  best 
energies,  but  there  are  others  which  depress  and  paralyse  his 
powers.  I  am  convinced  that  the  extreme  North,  like  the 
Tropics,  is  unfavourable  to  the  best  mental  and  physical 
condition  of  the  human  race.  The  proper  zone  of  man  lies 
between  30°  and  55°  North. 

To  one  who  has  not  an  unusual  capacity  to  enjoy  the 
experiences  of  varied  travel,  1  should  not  recommend  such  a 
journey.  With  me,  the  realization  of  a  long-cherished 
desire,  the  sense  of  novelty,  the  opportunity  for  contrasting 
extremes,  and  the  interest  with  which  the  people  inspired  me 
far  outweighed  all  inconveniences  and  privations.  In  fact, 
I  was  n3t  fully  aware  of  the  gloom  and  cold  in  which  I  had 


194  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

lived  until  we  returned  far  enough  southward  to  tnjoy  eigh- 
hours  of  sunshine,  and  a  temperature  above  the  freezing 
point.  It  was  a  second  birth  into  a  living  world.  Al- 
though we  had  experienced  little  positive  suffering  from  the 
intense  cold,  except  on  the  return  from  Muoniovara  to  Ha- 
paranda,  our  bodies  had  already  accommodated  themselves 
to  a  low  temperature,  and  the  sudden  transition  to  30° 
above  zero  came  upon  us  like  the  warmth  of  June.  My 
friend,  Dr.  Kane,  once  described  to  me  the  comfort  he  felt 
when  the  mercury  rose  to  7°  below  zero,  making  it  pleasant 
to  be  on  deck.  The  circumstance  was  then  incomprehensible 
to  me,  but  is  now  quite  plain.  I  can  also  the  better  realise 
the  terrible  sufferings  of  himself  and  his  men,  exposed  to  a 
storm  in  a  temperature  of — 47°,  when  the  same  degree  of 
cold,  with  a  very  light  wind,  turned  my  own  blood  to  ice. 

Most  of  our  physical  sensations  are  relative,  and  the  mere 
enumeration  of  so  many  degrees  of  heat  or  cold  gives  no  idea 
of  their  effect  upon  the  system.  I  should  have  frozen  at 
home  in  a  temperature  which  I  found  very  comfortable  in 
Lapland,  with  my  solid  diet  of  meat  and  butter,  and  my 
garments  of  reindeer.  The  following  is  a  correct  scale  ol 
the  physical  effect  of  cold,  calculated  for  the  latitude  of  65° 
to  70°  North : 

]  5°  above  zero — Unpleasantly  warm. 

Zero — Mild  and  agreeable. 

10°  below  zero — Pleasantly  fresh  and  bracing 

20°  below  zero— Sharp,  but  not  severely  cold.  Keep  /out 
fingers  and  toes  in  motion,  and  rub  your  nose  occasionally. 

30°  below  zero — Very  cold  ;  take  particular  care  of  youi 
uose  and  extremities:  eat  the  fattest  food,  and  plenty  of  it 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE  ARCTIC    TRIP. 


195 


40°  below — Intensely  cold ;  keep  awake  at  all  hazards 
muffle  up  to  the  eyes,  and  test  your  circulation  frequently, 
that  it  may  not  stop  somewhere  before  you  know  it. 

60°  below — A  struggle  fur  life. 

*  We  kept  a  record  of  the  temperature  from  the  time  we  left  SundsvaL 
(Dec.  21)  until  our  return  to  Stockholm.  As  a  matter  of  interest,  I  sub 
join  it,  changing  the  degrees  from  Reaumur  to  Fahrenheit.'  We  tested 
the  thermometer  repeatedly  ou  the  way,  and  found  it  very  generally  re- 
liable, although  iu  extremely  low  temperature  it  showed  from  one  to  two 
degrees  more  than  a  spirit  thermometer.  The  observations  were  taken 
at  from  9  to  8  A.  M.,  12  to  2  P.  M.,  and  7  to  11  p.  M  ,  whenever  it  waa 
possible. 


Morning. 

Noon. 

Evening. 

Decembei 

21 

+  6 

.. 

zero. 

" 

22 

+  6 

.. 

—  3 

i< 

23 

—22 

—29 

—22 

« 

24 

—  6 

—22 

—22 

M 

25 

—35 

—38 

mer  frozen 

M 

26 

—30 

—24 

—31 

M 

27  (storm)    . 

—18 

—18 

—  ie 

M 

28  (storm)     . 

zero. 

zero. 

zero. 

II 

29 

—  6 

—13 

—13 

M 

30 

—  6 

—13 

—22 

II 

31  (storm)    . 

—  3 

+  9 

+  9 

January 

1,  1857 

+  3 

+  3 

+  3 

it 

2 

—  6 

—  6 

—  6 

ii 

3 

—30 

—22 

—22 

M 

4 

—18 

.. 

—22 

i 

5 

—31 

—30 

—33 

• 

6 

—20 

—  4 

aero. 

•4 

7 

+  4 

+18 

+25 

A 

8 

+18 

.. 

—11 

t» 

9 

—28 

—44 

-44 

U 

10  (storm) 

—  5 

.. 

—  2 

U 

11  (storm) 

—  2 

zero 

-  6 

NORTIII.RN  TRAVEL. 


Morning. 

Noon, 

Event*? 

January 

12,  1857  (stoim)    —  5 

—  4 

—  4 

H 

13  (storm) 

+  5 

+  5 

+  6 

u 

14 

—  6 

—13 

—  6 

tt 

15 

—  8 

—13 

-33 

»• 

16 

—  » 

—10 

-11 

i: 

17  (fog) 

zero. 

zero. 

zero. 

u 

18 

—10 

—18 

—23 

tt    • 

19  (storm) 

—  3 

—  3 

—  9 

M 

20 

+20 

-- 

+  c 

U 

21 

—  4 

zero. 

zero. 

« 

22 

+  2 

—  6 

—13 

tt 

23 

—13 

—  3 

—13 

" 

24 

—15 

—22 

—44 

It 

25mer.froz 

—50? 

—42 

mei   frozer 

II 

26 

-45 

—35 

--39 

u 

27 

frozen  —471 

-45 

-35 

It 

28 

frozen  —  49  T 

—47 

—44 

u 

29 

—47? 

-43 

—13 

u 

30 

—27 

—11 

—35 

II 

31 

—17 

—16 

—  7 

February 

1 

zero. 

—  9 

—13 

u 

2 

+  2 

+  6 

zero. 

M 

3 

zero. 

zero. 

zero. 

U 

4 

—  9 

zero. 

—  3 

•< 

5  (storm) 

•         +3 

+  3 

+  3 

U 

6 

.         +25 

+25 

+18 

M 

7 

.         +14 

+18 

+25 

M 

8 

.         +25 

+39 

+22 

M 

9 

.         +5 

+22 

+16 

M 

10 

+25 

+37 

+37 

U 

11 

.         +34 

+34 

432 

U 

12 

+32 

+37 

423 

M 

13 

.         +16 

+30 

421 

• 

14 

.         +25 

+30 

+25 

LIFE    IX    STOCKHOLM.  197 


CHAPTER    XYII. 

LIFE    IN    STOCKHOLM. 

THE  Rwodo^  are  proud  of  Stockholm,  and  justly  so.  No 
European  capital,  except  Constantinople,  can  boast  such  pic- 
turesque beauty  of  position,  and  none  whatever  affords  so 
great  a  range  of  shifting  yet  ever  lovely  aspects.  Travel- 
lers are  fond  of  calling  it,  in  the  imitative  nomenclature  of 
commonplace,  the  "Venice  of  the  North" — but  it  is  no  Ven- 
ice. It  is  not  that  swa,n  of  the  Adriatic,  singing  her  death- 
song  in  the  purple  sunset,  but  a  northern  eaglet,  nested  on 
the  islands  and  rocky  shores  of  the  pale  green  Mftlar  lake. 
The  Stad,  or  city  proper,  occupies  three  islands,  which  lie 
in  the  mouth  of  the  narrow  strait,  by  which  the  waters  of 
the  lake,  after  having  come  a  hundred  miles  frpm  the  west- 
ward, and  washed  in  their  course  the  shores  of  thirteen  hun- 
dred islands,  pour  themselves  into  the  outer  archipelago 
which  is  claimed  by  the  Baltic  Sea.  On  the  largest  of 
these  islands,  according  to  tradition,  Agne,  King  of  Sweden, 
was  strangled  with  his  own  golden  chain,  by  the  Finnish 
princess  Skiolfa,  whom  he  had  taken  prisoner.  This  wag 
sixteen  hundred  years  ago,  and  a  thousand  years  later,  Bir 


lug  NORTHERN  TRAVfcL 

ger  Jarl,  on  the  same  spot,  built  the  stronghold  which  was 
the  seed  out  of  which  Stockholm  has  grown. 

This  island,  and  the  adjoining  Riddarholm,  or  Island  oi 
the  Knights,  contain  all  the  ancient  historic  landmarks  oi 
the  city,  and  nearly  all  of  its  most  remarkable  buildings 
The  towers  of  the  Storkyrka  and  the  Riddarholm's  Church 
lift  themselves  high  into  the  air ;  the  dark  red  mass  of  the 
Riddarhus,  or  House  of  Nobles,  and  the  white  turrets  and 
quadrangles  of  the  penitentiary  are  conspicuous  among  the 
old  white,  tile-roofed  blocks  of  houses ;  while,  rising  above 
the  whole,  the  most  prominent  object  in  every  view  of 
Stockholm,  is  the  Slot,  or  Royal  Palace.  This  is  one  of 
the  noblest  royal  residences  in  Europe.  Standing  on  an  im- 
mense basement  terrace  of  granite,  its  grand  quadrangle  of 
between  three  and  four  hundred  feet  square,  with  wings  (re- 
sembling, in  general  design,  the  Pitti  Palace  at  Florence),  is 
elevated  quite  above  the  rest  of  the  city,  which  it  crowns  as 
with  a  mural  diadem.  The  chaste  and  simple  majesty  of 
this  edifice,  and  its  admirable  proportions,  are  a  perpetual 
gratification  to  the  eye.  which  is  always  drawn  to  it,  as  » 
central  point,  and  thereby  prevented  from  dwelling  on  what- 
ever inharmonious  or  unsightly  features  there  may  be  in  the 
general  view. 

Splendid  bridges  of  granite  connect  the  island  with  the 
northern  and  southern  suburbs,  each  of  which  is  much  greater 
n  extent  than  the  city  proper.  The  palace  fronts  directly 
npon  the  Norrbro,  or  Northern  Bridge,  the  great  thorough 
fare  of  Stockholm,  \\hich  leads  to  the  Square  of  Gustavufi 
Adolphus,  flanked  on  either  side  by  the  palace  of  the  Crown 
Prince  and  the  Opera  House.  The  northern  suburb  is  the 


LIFE   IX   STOCKHOLM.  |99 

fashi  mable  quarter,  containing  all  the  newest  streets  and 
the  handsomest  private  residences.  The  ground  rises  grad- 
ually from  the  water,  and  as  very  little  attention  is  paid  to 
grading,  the  streets  follow  the  undulations  of  the  low  hilla 
over  which  (hey  spread,  rising  to  the  windmills  on  the  outer 
heights  and  sinking  into  the  hollows  between.  The  southern 
suburb,  however,  is  a  single  long  hill,  up  the  steep  side  of 
which  the  houses  climb,  row  after  row,  until  they  reach  the 
Church  of  St.  Catherine,  which  crowns  the  very  summit. 
In  front  of  the  city  (that  is  eastward,  and  toward  the  Baltic), 
lie  two  other  islands,  connected  by  bridges  with  the  north- 
ern suburb.  Still  beyond  is  the  Djurgard,  or  Deer-Park,  a 
singularly  picturesque  island,  nearly  the  whole  of  which  is 
occupied  by  a  public  park,  and  the  summer  villas  of  the 
wealthy  Stockholmers.  Its  natural  advantages  are  superior 
to  those  of  any  other  park  in  Europe.  Even  in  April,  when 
there  was  scarcely  a  sign  of  spring,  its  cliffs  of  grey  rock,  its 
rolling  lawns  of  brown  grass,  and  its  venerable  oaks,  with 
their  iron  trunks  and  gnarled,  contorted  boughs,  with  blue 
glimpses  of  ice-free  water  on  all  sides,  attracted  hundreds 
of  visitors  daily. 

The  streets  of  Stockholm  are,  with  but  two  or  three  ex- 
ceptions, narrow  and  badly  paved.  The  municipal  regula- 
tions in  regard  to  them  appear  to  be  sadly  deficient.  They 
are  quite  as  filthy  as  those  of  New- York,  and  the  American 
reader  will  therefore  have  some  idea  of  their  horrid  condi 
tion.  A  few  trottoirs  have  been  recently  introduced,  but 
even  in  the  Drottning-gatan,  the  principal  street,  they  are 
barely  wide  enough  for  two  persons  to  walk  abreast.  The 
pavements  are  rough,  slipperry,  and  dangerous  both  to  man 


£00  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

and  beast.  1  have  no  doubt  that  the  great  number  'of  crip 
pies  in  Stockholm  is  owing  to  this  cause.  On  the  othel 
hand,  the  houses  are  models  of  solidity  and  stability.  They 
are  all  of  stone,  or  brick  stuccoed  over,  with  staircases  oJ 
Btone  or  iron,  wood  being  prohibited  by  law,  and  roofs  of 
copper  slate  or  tiles.  •  In  fact,  the  Swedes  have  singularly 
luxurious  ideas  concerning  roofs,  spending  much  more  money 
upon  them,  proportionately,  than  on  the  house  itself.  You 
even  see  wooden  shanties  with  copper  roofs,  got  up  regardless 
of  expense.  The  houses  are  well  lighted  (which  is  quite 
necessary  in  the  dark  streets),  and  supplied  with  double 
windows  against  the  cold.  The  air-tight  Russian  stove  is 
universal.  It  has  the  advantage  of  keeping  up  sufficient 
warmth  with  a  very  small  supply  of  fuel,  but  at  the  expense 
of  ventilation.  I  find  nothing  yet  equal  to  the  old  fashioned 
fire-place  in  this  respect,  though  I  must  confess  I  prefer  the 
Russian  stove  to  our  hot-air  furnaces.  Carpets  are  very 
common  in  Sweden,  and  thus  the  dwellings  have  an  air  of 
warmth  and  comfort  which  is  not  found  in  Germany  and 
other  parts  of  the  Continent.  The  arrangements  for  sleep- 
ing and  washing  are  tolerable,  though  scanty,  as  compared 
with  England,  but  the  cleanliness  of  Swedish  houses  makes 
amends  for  many  deficiencies. 

The  manner  of  living  in  Stockholm,  nevertheless,  is  not 
very  agreeable  t»  the  stranger.  There  is  no  hotel,  except 
Kahn's,  where  one  can  obtain  both  beds  and  meals.  The 
practice  is  to  hire  rooms,  generally  with  the  privilege  of  hav- 
ing your  coffee  in  the  morning,  and  to  get  your  meals  at  a 
restaurant,  of  which  there  are  many,  tolerably  cheap  and 
not  paiticularly  good.  Even  Davison's,  the  best  and  «noe1 


LIFE    IN    STOCKHOIV  201 

fashionable,  has  but  an  ordinary  cuisine.  Rooms  are  quite 
dear — particularly  during  our  sojourn,  when  the  Diet  wag 
in  session  and  the  city  crowded  with  country  visitors — and 
the  inclusive  expenses  of  living  were  equal  to  Berlin  and 
greater  than  in  Paris.  I  found  that  it  cost  just  about  aa 
much  to  be  stationary  here,  as  to  travel  with  post-horses  in 
the  Northern  provinces.  The  Swedes  generally  have  a  cup 
of  coffee  on  getting  out  of  bed,  or  before,  a  substantial 
Breakfast  at  nine,  dinner  at  three,  and  tea  in  the  evening. 
The  wealthier  families  dine  an  hour  or  two  later,  but  the 
crowds  at  the  restaurants  indicate  the  prevailing  time.  Din- 
ner, and  frequently  breakfast,  is  prefaced  with  a  smOrghs 
(butter-goose),  consisting  of  anchovies,  pickled  herrings, 
cheese  and  brandy.  Soup  which  is  generally  sweet,  comes  in 
the  middle  and  sometimes  at  the  end  of  dinner,  and  the 
universal  dessert  is  preserved  fruit  covered  with  whipped 
cream.  I  have  had  occasion  to  notice  the  fondness  of  the 
Swedes  for  sugar,  which  some  persons  seem  to  apply  to  al- 
most every  dish,  except  fish  and  oysters.  I  have  often  seen 
them  season  crab  soup  with  powdered  sugar.  A  favorite 
dish  is  raw  salmon,  buried  in  the  earth  until  it  is  quite  sod- 
den— a  great  delicacy,  they  say,  but  I  have  not  yet  been 
hungry  enough  to  eat  it.  Meat,  which  is  abundant,  is 
rarely  properly  cooked,  and  game,  of  which  Sweden  has  a 
great  variety,  is  injured  by  being  "swamped  in  sauces.  He 
must  be  very  fastidious,  however,  who  cannot  live  passably 
well  in  Stockholm,  especially  if  he  has  frequent,  invitations 
to  dine  with  private  families,  many  of  whom  have  very  ex 
?ellent  cooks. 

ATy  Swedish  friends  all  said,  •'  You  should  see  Stockholm 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 


in  summer  !  You  have  passed  the  worst  part  of  (he  whole 
year  among  us,  and  you  leave  just  when  our  fine  days  begin-'' 
[  needed  no  assurance,  however,  of  the  summer  charm  of  tht 
place.  In  those  long,  golden  evenings,  which  give  place  to 
an  unfading  twilight,  when  the  birch  is  a  network  of  silver 
ind  green,  and  the  meadows  are  sown  with  the  bright  wild 
dowers  of  the  North,  those  labyrinths  of  land  and  water 
must  be  truly  enchanting.  But  were  the  glories  of  the 
Northern  Summer  increased  tenfold,  I  could  not  make  my 
home  where  such  a  price  must  be  paid  for  them.  From  the 
time  of  our  arrival,  in  February,  until  towards  the  close  of 
April,  the  weather  was  of  that  kind  which  aggravates  one 
to  the  loss  of  all  patience.  We  had  dull,  raw,  cloudy  skies, 
a  penetrating,  unnerving,  and  depressing  atmosphere,  mud 
under  foot,  alternating  with  slushy  snow,  —  in  short,  every- 
thing that  is  disagreeable  in  winter,  without  its  brisk  and 
bracing  qualities.  I  found  this  season  much  more  difficult 
to  endure  than  all  the  cold  of  Lapland,  and  in  spite  of 
pleasant  society  and  the  charms  of  rest  after  a  fatiguing 
journey,  our  sojourn  in  Stockholm  was  for  a  time  sufficiently 
tedious. 

At  first,  we  lived  a  rather  secluded  life  in  our  rooms  in 
the  Beridarebansgatan,  in  the  northern  suburb,  devoting  our- 
selves principally  to  gymnastics  and  the  study  of  the  Swed- 
ish language,  —  both  of  which  can  be  prosecuted  to  more  ad- 
vantage in  Stockholm  than  any  where  else.  For,  amon-j  the 
distinguished  men  of  Sweden  may  be  reckoned  Linir.  th» 
inyentor  of  what  may  be  termed  anatomical  gymnastics 
His  system  not  only  aims  at  reducing  to  a  science  the  mus- 
snlar  development  of  the  body,  but,  by  means  of  both  ar- 


LIFE   IN    STOCKHOLM  203 

uvc  and  passive  movements,  at  reaching  the  eeat  of  uiseasf 
and  stimulating  the  various  organs  to  healthy  actiou..  In 
the  former  of  these  objects,  1  .ing  has  certainly  succeeded ; 
there  is  no  other  system  of  muscular  training  that  will  bear 
comparison  with  his ;  and  if  he  has  to  some  extent  failed 
jn  the  latter,  it  is  because,  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  man 
possessed  by  a  new  discovery,  he  claimed  too  much.  His 
successor,  Prof.  Branting,  possesses  equal  enthusiasm,  and 
his  faith  in  gymnastics,  as  a  panacea  for  all  human  infirmi- 
ties, is  most  unbounded.  The  institution  under  his  charge 
is  supported  by  Government,  and,  in  addition  to  the  officers 
of  the  army  and  navy,  who  are  obliged  to  make  a  complete 
gymnastic  course,  is  largely  attended  by  invalids  of  all  ages 
and  classes. 

Neither  of  us  required  the  system  as  a  medical  applica- 
tion. I  wished  to  increase  the  girth  of  my  chest,  some- 
what diminished  by  a  sedentary  life,  and  Braisted  needed  a 
safety-valve  for  his  surplus  strength.  However,  the  profes- 
Bor,  by  dint  of  much  questioning,  ascertained  that  one  of  us 
was  sometimes  afflicted  with  cold  feet,  and  the  other  with 
head-aches,  and  thereupon  clapped  us  both  upon  the  sick 
list.  On  entering  the  hall,  on  the  first  morning  of  our  at- 
tendance, a  piece  of  paper  containing  the  movements  pre- 
scribed for  our  individual  cases,  was  stuck  in  our  bosoms. 
On  inspecting  the  lists,  we  found  we  had  ten  movements 
apiece,  and  no  two  of  them  alike.  What  they  were  we 
could  only  dimly  guess  from  such  cabalistic  terms  as  "  Stiki- 
frangst,"  "  Krhalfligg,"  "  Simh&ng?  or  "  Hogstrgrsitl.* 
The  hall,  about  eighty  feet  in  length  by  thirty  in  height 
was  furnished  with  the  usual  appliances  for  gymnastic  exer 


O(J4  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

aisos.  Some  fifty  or  sixty  patients  were  present,  part  ol 
whom  were  walking  up  and  down  the  middle  passage  with 
an  air  of  great  solemnity,  while  the  others,  gathered  in  va- 
rious little  groups  on  either  side,  appeared  to  be  undergoing 
uncouth  forms  of  torture  There  was  no  voluntary  exer- 
cise, if  I  except  an  old  gentleman  in  a  black  velvet  coat, 
who  repeatedly  suspended  himself  by  the  hands,  head  down- 
wards,  and  who  died  of  apoplexy  not  long  afterwards";  every 
one  was  being  exercised  upon.  Here,  a  lathy  young  man, 
bent  sideways  over  a  spar,  was  struggling,  with  a  very  red 
face,  to  right  himself,  while  a  stout  teacher  held  him  down ; 
there,  a  corpulent  gentleman,  in  the  hands  of  five  robust  as- 
sistants, was  having  his  body  violently  revolved  upon  the 
baee  of  his  hip  joints,  as  if  they  were  trying  to  unscrew  him 
from  his  legs ;  and  yonder  again,  -an  individual,  suspended 
by  his  arms  from  a  cross-bar,  had  his  feet  held  up  ;ind  his 
legs  stretched  apart  by  another,  while  a  third  pounded  vig- 
orously with  closed  fists  upon  his  seat  of  honour.  Now  and 
then  a  prolonged  yell,  accompanied  with  all  sorts  of  bur- 
lesque variations,  issued  from  the  throats  of  the  assembly 
The  object  of  this  was  at  first  not  clear  to  me,  but  I  after- 
wards discovered  that  the  full  use  of  the  lungs  was  consider- 
ed by  Ling  a  very  important  part  of  the  exercises.  Alto- 
gether, it  was  a  peculiar  scene,  and  not  without  a  marked 
grotesque  character. 

On  exhibiting  my  niatsedcl,  or  "  bill  of  fare,"  to  the  first 
teacher  who  happened  to  be  disengaged,  I  received  my  first 
movement,  which  consisted  in  being  held  with  my  back 
against  a  post,  while  I  turned  my  body  from  side  to  sid* 
against  strong  resistance,  employing  the  muscles  of  the  cheat 


LIFE  IN   STOCKHOLM.  205 

only.  1  was  then  told  to  walk  for  five  minutes  before  taking 
the  second  movement.  It  is  unnecessary  to  recapitulate  the 
various  contortions  I  was  made  to  perform  ;  suffice  it  to  say. 
that  1  felt  very  sore  after  them,  which  Professor  Branting 
considered  a  promising  sign,  and  that,  at  the  end  of  a  month, 
I  was  taken  off  the  sick  list  and  put  among  thcfriskas,  or 
healthy  patients,  to  whom  more  and  severer  movements,  in 
part  active,  are  allotted.  This  department  was  under  the 
special  charge  of  Baron  Vegesach,  an  admirable  teacher, 
and  withal  a  master  of  fencing  with  the  bayonet,  a  branch 
of  defensive  art  which  the  Swedes  have  the  honour  of  orig- 
inating. The  drill  of  the  young  officers  in  bayonet  exer- 
cise was  one  of  the  finest  things  of  the  kind  I  ever  saw.  1 
prospered  so  well  under  the  Baron's  tuition,  that  at  the  end 
of  the  second  month  I  was  able  to  climb  a  smooth  mast,  to 
run  up  ropes  with  my  hands,  and  to  perform  various  other 
previous  impossibilities,  while  my  chest  had  increased  an 
inch  and  a  half  in  circumference,  the  addition  being  solid 
muscle. 

During  the  time  of  my  attendance  I  could  not  help  but 
notice  the  eifect  of  the  discipline  upon  the  other  patients, 
especially  the  children.  The  weak  and  listless  gradually 
straightened  themselves;  the  pale  and  salbw  took  colour 
and  lively  expression  ;  the  crippled  and  paralytic  recovered 
the  use  of  their  limbs ;  in  short,  all,  with  the  exception  of 
two  or  three  hypochondriacs,  exhibited  a  very  marked  im- 
provement. The  cheerfulness  and  geniality  which  pervaded 
the  company,  and  of  which  Professor  Branting  himself  was 
the  best  example,  no  doubt  assisted  the  cure.  All,  both 

^oachers  and  pupils,  met  on  a  platform  of  the  most  absolute 
10 


206  1SORTHERX   TRAVEL 

equality,  and  willingly  took  turns  in  lending  a  hand  wher- 
ever it  was  needed.  I  have  had  my  feet  held  up  by  a  for- 
eign ambassador,  while  a  pair  of  Swedish  counts  applied  the 
proper  degree  of  resistance  to  the  muscles  of  my  arms  and 
shoulders.  The  result  of  my  observation  and  experienc 
was,  that  Ling's  system  of  physical  education  is  undoubted- 
ly the  best  in  the  world,  and  that,  as  a  remedial  agent  in  all 
cases  of  congenital  weakness  or  deformity,  as  well  as  in 
those  diseases  which  arise  from  a  deranged  circulation,  its 
value  can  scarcely  be  over-estimated.  It  may  even  afford 
indirect  assistance  in  more  serious  organic  diseases,  but  I  dc 
not  believe  that  it  is  of  much  service  in  those  cases  where 
chemical  agencies  are  generally  employed.  Professor  Brant- 
ing,  however,  asserts  that  it  is  a  specific  for  all  diseases  what- 
soever, including  consumption,  malignant  fevers,  and  vene 
real  affections.  One  thing  at  least  is  certain — that  in  aii 
age  when  physical  training  is  most  needed  and  most  neglect- 
ed, this  system  deserves  to  be  introduced  into  every  civil- 
ised country,  as  an  indispensable  branch  in.  the  education 
of  youth. 

1  found  the  Swedish  language  as  easy  to  read  as  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  speak  correctly.  The  simplicity  of  its  structure, 
which  differs  but  slightly  from  English,  accounts  for  the 
former  quality,  while  the  peculiar  use  of  the  definite  article 
as  a  terminal  syllable,  attached  to  the  noun,  is  a  great  im- 
pediment to  fluent  speaking.  The  passive  form  of  the  verb 
also  requires  much  practice  before  it  becomes  familiar,  and 
the  mode  of  address  in  conversation  is  awkward  and  incon- 
venient beyond  measure.  The  word  yrsu,  or  its  correspcn 
dent  is  never  used,  except  in  speaking  to  inferiors ;  wher 


LIFE  IN   STOCKHOLM  207 

ever  it  occurs  in  other  languages,  the  title  of  the  person  ad- 
dressed must  be  repeated ;  as,  for  example :  "  How  is  the 
Herr  Justizrad  ?  I  called  at  the  Herr  Justizrad's  house  this 
morning,  but  the  Herr  Justizrad  was  not  at  home."  Some 
of  the  more  progressive  Swedes  are  endeavouring  to  do  away 
with  this  absurdity,  by  substituting  the  second  person  plural, 
nt,  which  is  already  used  in  literature,  but  even  they  only 
dare  to  use  it  in  their  own  private  circle.  The  Swedes,  es- 
pecially in  Stockholm,  speak  with  a  peculiar  drawl  and  sing- 
ing accent,  exactly  similar  to  that  which  is  often  heard  in 
Scotland.  It  is  very  inferior  to  the  natural,  musical  rhythm 
of  Spanish,  to  which,  in  its  vocalisation,  Swedish  has  a 
great  resemblance.  Except  Finnish,  which  is  music  itself 
it  is  the  most  melodious  of  northern  languages,  and  the  mel- 
low flow  of  its  poetry  is  often  scarcely  surpassed  by  the 
Italian.  The  infinitive  verb  always  ends  in  a,  and  the  lan- 
guage is  full  of  soft,  gliding  iambics,  which  give  a  peculiar 
grace  to  its  poetry. 

It  is  rather  singular  that  the  Swedish  prose,  in  point  of 
finish  and  elegance,  is  far  behind  the  Swedish  poetry.  One 
cause  of  this  may  be,  that  it  is  scarcely  more  than  fifty  years 
since  the  prose  writers  of  the  country  began  to  use  their 
native  language.  The  works  of  Linnaeus,  Swedenborg,  and 
other  authors  of  the  past  century  must  now  be  translated 
into  Swedish.  Besides,  there  are  two  prose  dialects — a  con- 
versational and  a  declamatory,  the  latter  beiiii;  much  more 
artificial  and  involved  r:  a'i  the  former.  All  public  ad- 
iresses,  as  well  us  prose  documents  of  a  weighty  or  serious 
jharacter.  must  be  spoken  or  written  in  this  pompous  and 
*ntiqu-\ted  style,  owing  to  which,  naturally,  the  country  it 


308  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

almost  destitute  of  orators.  Bu.t  the  poets, — especially  men 
of  the  sparkling  fancy  of  Bellman,  or  the  rich  lyrical  in- 
spiration of  Tegner,  are  not  to  be  fettered  by  such  conven- 
tionalities; and  they  have  given  the  verse  of  Sweden  an 
•ase,  and  grace,  and  elegance,  which  one  vainly  seeks  in  ita 
prose.  In  Stockholm,  the  French  taste,  so  visible  in  the 
manners  of  the  people,  has  also  affected  the  language,  and  a 
number  of  French  words  and  forms  of  expression,  which 
have  filtered  through  society,  from  the  higher  to  the  lower 
classes,  arc  now  in  general  use.  The  spelling,  however,  is 
made  to  conform  to  Swedish  pronunciation,  and  one  is 
amused  at  finding  on  placards  such  words  as  "  trottoar," 
"  salong"  and  " paviljong:" 

No  country  is  richer  in  song-literature  than  Sweden.  The 
popular  songs  and  ballads  of  the  different  provinces,  wedded 
to  airs  as  original  and  characteristic  as  the  words,  number 
many  hundreds.  There  are  few  Swedes  who  cannot  sing, 
and  I  doubt  whether  any  country  in  Europe  would  be  able 
to  furnish  so  many  fine  voices.  Yet  the  taste  for  what  is 
foreign  and  unaccustomed  rules,  and  the  minstrels  of  the 
cafes  and  the  Djurgard  are  almost  without  exception  Ger- 
man. Latterly,  two  or  three  bands  of  native  singers  have 
been  formed,  who  give  concerts  devoted  entirely  to  the  coun- 
try melodies  of  Sweden  ;  and  I  believe  they  have  been  tol- 
erably successful. 

In  these  studies,  relieved  occasionally  by  rambles  over  the 
hills,  whenever  there  was  an  hour's  sunshine,  and  by  occa- 
sional evenings  with  Swedish,  English,  and  American  friends, 
we  passed  the  months  of  March  and  April,  waiting  for  the 
tardy  spring.  Of  the  shifting  and  picturesque  views  whicb 


LIFE    IN    STOCKHOLM  209 

Stockholm  presents  to  the  stranger's  eye,  from  whatever 
point  he  beholds  her,  we  never  wearied  ;  but  we  began  at  last 
to  tire  of  our  ice-olation,  and  to  look  forward  to  the  re- 
opening of  the  Gotha  Canal,  as  a  mean's  of  escape  Day 
after  day  it  was  a  new  satisfaction  to  behold  the  majestic 
palace  crowning  the  island-city  and  looking  far  and  wide 
over  the  frozen  lakes  ;  the  tall,  slender  spire  of  the  Riddar- 
hohn,  soaring  above  the  ashes  of  Charles  XII.  and  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  was  always  a  welcome  sight;  but  we  had  seen 
enough  of  the  hideous  statues  which  ornament  the  public 
squares,  (Charles  XII.  not  among  them,  and  the  imbecile 
Charles  XIII.  occupying  the  best  place) ;  we  grew  tired  of 
the  monotonous  perambulators  on  the  Forrbro,  and  the  tame- 
new  and  sameness  of  Stockholm  life  in  winter:  and  therefore 
hailed  tlu  lengthening  days  which  heralded  our  deliverance. 
As  to  the  sights  of  the  capital,  are  they  not  described  in 
the  guide-books  ?  The  champion  of  the  Reformation  lies  in 
hi?  chapel,  under  a  cloud  of  his  captured  banners :  opposite 
to  him,  the  magnificent  madman  of  the  Norfh,  with  hun- 
dreds of  Polish  and  Russian  ensigns  rustling  above  hif 
heads.  In  the  royal  armory  you  see  the  sword  and  the 
bloody  shirt  of  the  one,  the  bullet-pierced  hat  and  cloak  of 
the  other,  still  coated  with  the  mud  of  the  trench  at 
Fredrickshall.  There  are  robes  and  weapons  of  the  other 
Carls  and  Gustavs,  but  the  splendour  of  Swedish  history  ia 
embodied  in  these  two  names,  and  in  that  of  Gustavus  Vasa, 
who  lies  entombed  in  the  old  cathedral  at  Upsala.  When 
I  had  grasped  their  swords,  and  the  sabre  of  Czar  Peter 
captured  at  Narva,  I  felt  that  there  were  no  other  relice 
vn  Sweden  which  could  make  my  heart  throb  a  beat  the  faster 


210  NORTHERN  TRAVC1. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

MANNERS    AND    MORALS    OF    STOCKHOLM. 

As  a  people,  the  Swedes  are  very  hospitable,  and  particu- 
larly sc  toward  foreigners.  There  is  perhaps  no  country  iii 
Europe  where  travellers  are  treated  with  so  much  kindness 
and  allowed  so  many  social  privileges.  This  is  fortunate,  as 
the  conventionalities  of  the  country  are  more  rigid  than  thr 
laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  Nothing  excites  greater 
scandal  than  an  infraction  of  the  numberless  little  formal- 
ities with  which  the  descendants  of  the  honest,  spontaneous, 
impulsive  old  Scandinavians  have,  somehow  or  other,  allowed 
themselves  to  be  fettered,  and  were  not  all  possible  allowance 
made  for  the  stranger,  he  would  have  but  a  dismal  time  of 
it.  Notwithstanding  these  habits  have  become  a  second 
nature,  they  are  still  a  false  nature,  and  give  a  painfully  stiff 
and  constrained  air  to  society.  The  Swedes  pride  themselves 
on  being  the  politest  people  in  Europe.  Voltaire  called 
them  the  "  Frenchmen  of  the  North,"  and  they  are  greatly 
flattered  by  the  epithet.  But  how  much  better,  to  call 
themselves  Swedes  ? — to  preserve  the  fine,  manly  character- 
istics of  their  ancient  stock,  rather  than  imitate  a  people  sc 
alien  to  them  in  blood,  in  character,  and  in  antecedents 


MANNERS   AND   MORALS   OF   STOCKHOLM.  2l\ 

Those  meaningless  social  courtesies  which  sit  well  enough, 
apon  the  gay,  volatile,  mercurial  Frenchman,  seem  absurd 
affectations  when  practiced  by  the  tall,  grave,  sedate  Scan- 
dinavian. The  intelligent  Swedes  feel  this,  but  they  are 
powerless  to  make  headway  against  the  influence  of  a  court 
which  \v;.s  wholly  French,  even  before  Bernadotte's  time. 
u  We  are  a  race  of  apes,"  said  one  of  them  to  me  bitterly. 
Gustavus  HI.  was  thoroughly  French  in  his  tastes,  but  the 
ruin  of  Swedish  nationality  in  Stockholm  was  already  com- 
menced when  he  ascended  the  throne. 

Stockholm  manners,  at  present,  are  a  curious  mixture  of 
English  and  French,  the  latter  element,  of  course,  being 
predominant.  In  costume,  the  gentlemen  are  English,  with 
exaggeration.  Nowhere  are  to  be  seen  such  enormously  tall 
and  stiff  black  chimney-pots  (misnamed  hats),  nowhere  such 
straight-cut  overcoats,  descending  to  the  very  heels.  You 
might  stick  all  the  men  you  see  into  pasteboard  cards,  like  a 
row  of  pins,  so  precisely  are  they  clothed  upon  the  same 
model.  But  when  you  meet  one  of  these  grim,  funereal 
figures,  he  pulls  off  his  hat  with  a  politeness  which  is  more 
than  French;  he  keeps  it  off,  perhaps,  while  he  is  speaking; 
you  shake  hands  and  accept  his  invitation  to  enter  his  house 
After  you  are  within,  he  greets  you  a  second  time  with  the 
game  ceremonies,  as  if  you  had  then  first  met ;  he  says, "  Tak 
for  sist  /"  (equivalent  to;  "thank  you  for  the  pleasure  of 
your  company  the  last  time  we  met !")  and,  after  your  visit 
is  over,  you  part  with  equal  formality.  At  dinner  the  guests 
Stand  gravely  around  the  table  with  clasped  hands,  before 
Bitting  down.  This  is  repeated  on  rising,  after  which  they 
ww  to  each  other  and  shake  hands  with  the  host  and  hostess 


212  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

Formerly  they  used  to  say  "  I  thank  you  for  the  meal,"  8 
custom  still  retained  in  Denmark  and  Norway.  Not  long 
ago  the  guests  were  obliged  to  make  a  subsequent  visit  ol 
ceremony  to  thank  the  host  for  his  entertainment,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  invite  them  all  to  a  seconc  dinner,  in  conse- 
quence thereof;  so  that  giving  one  dinner  always  involved 
giving  two.  Fortunately  the  obligation  was  cancelled  by 
the  second,  or  the  visits  and  dinners  might  have  gone  on 
alternately,  ad  wjinitum. 

At  dinners  and  evening  parties,  white  gloves  and  white 
cravats  are  invariably  worn,  and  generally  white  vests.     The 
same  custom  is  observed  at  funerals,  even  the  drivers  of  the 
hearse  and  carriages  being  furnished  with  resplendent  white 
gloves  for  the  occasion.     I  have  a  horror  of  white  cravats, 
and  took  advantage  of  the  traveller's  privilege  to  wear  a 
black   one.     I  never   could  understand  why,  in  England, 
where  the  boundaries  of  caste  are  so  distinctly  marked,  a 
gentleman's  full  dress  should  be  his  servant's  livery.     The 
chimney-pots  are  no  protection  to  the  head  in  raw  or  very 
cold  weather,  and  it  required  no  little  courage  in  me  to  ap- 
pear in  fur  or  felt.     "  I  wish  I  could  wear  such  a  comfortable 
hat,"  said  a  Swede  to  me ;  "  but  I  dare  not ;  you  are  a  tra- 
veller, and  it  is  permitted;  but  a  Swede  would  lose  his 
position  in  society,  if  he  were  to  do  so."     Another  gentleman 
informed  me  that  his  own  sisters  refused  to  appear  in  the 
streets  with  him,  because  he  wore  a  cap.     A  former  English 
Consul  greatly  shocked  the  people  by  carrying  home  his  own 
marketing.     A  few  gentlemen  have  independence  enough  tc 
get  aside,  in  their  own  houses,  some  of  the  more  disagreeablf 
features  of  this  jonventior.alism,  and  the  success  of  two  01 


MANNERS  AN!)  MORALS  Otf  STOCKHOLM.  213 

three,  who  held  weekly  soirees  through  the  winter,  on  a  more 
free  arid  unrestrained  plan,  may  in  the  end  restore  somewhat 
of  naturalness  and  spontaneity  to  the  society  of  Stockholm. 

The  continual  taking  off  of  your  hat  to  everybody  you 
know,  is  a  great  annoyance  to  many  strangers.  A  lift  of 
the  hat,  as  in  Germany,  is  not  sufficient.  You  must  remove 
it  entirely,  and  hold  it  in  the  air  a  second  or  two  before  you 
replace  it.  King  Oscar  once  said  to  an  acquaintance  of 
mine,  who  was  commiserating  him  for  being  obliged  to  keep 
his  hat  off,  the  whole  length  of  the  Drottning-gatan,  in  a 
violent  snow-storm  :  "  You  are  quite  right ;  it  was  exceed- 
ingly disagreeable,  and  I  could  riot  help  wishing  that  instead 
of  being  king  of  Sweden,  I  \vere  king  of  Thibet,  where,  ac- 
cording to  Hue,  the  polite  salutation  is  simply  to  stick  out 
your  tongue."  The  consideration  extended  to  foreigners  is, 
I  am  told,  quite  withdrawn  after  they  become  residents;  so 
that,  as  an  Englishman  informed  me,  Stockholm  is  much 
more  pleasant  the  first  year  than  the  second.  The  principle, 
on  the  whole,  is  about  the  same  as  governs  English,  and 
most  American  society,  only  in  Sweden  its  tyranny  is  more 
severely  felt,  on  account  of  the  French  imitations  which 
have  been  engrafted  upon  it. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying  a  word  in  cen- 
sure of  that  genial  courtesy  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
Swedes,  not  less  of  the  bonder,  or  country  farmers,  than  of 
the  nobility.  They  are  by  nature  a  courteous  people,  and 
if,  throughout  the  country,  something  of  the  primness  and 
formality  of  ancient  manners  has  been  preserved,  it  the 
rather  serves  to  give  a  quaint  and  picturesque  grace  to 

society.     The  affectation  of  French  manners  applies  prin- 
10* 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 


cipally  to  the  capital,  which,  both  in  manners  and  morals 
can  by  no  means  be  taken  as  a  standard  for  the  whole  coun- 
try. The  Swedes  are  neither  licentious,  nor  extravagantly 
over-mannered:  the  Stockholmers  are  both.  During  the 
whole  of  our  journey  to  Lapland,  we  were  invariably  treated 
with  a  courtesy  which  bordered  on  kindness,  and  had 
abundant  opportunities  of  noticing  the  general  amenity  which 
exists  in  the  intercourse  even  of  the  poorest  classes.  The 
only  really  rude  people  we  saw,  were  travelling  traders, 
especially  those  from  the  capital,  who  thought  to  add  to 
their  importance  by  a  little  swaggering. 

I  recollect  hearing  of  but  a  single  instance  in  which  the 
usual  world-wide  rules  of  hospitality  were  grossly  violated. 
This  occurred  to  an  English  traveller,  who  spent  some  time 
in  the  interior  of  the  country.  While  taking  tea  one  even- 
ing with  a  prominent  family  of  the  province,  he  happened 
to  make  use  of  his  thumb  and  fore-finger  in  helping  himself 
to  a  lump  of  sugar.  The  mistress  of  the  house  immediately 
sent  out  the  servant,  who  reappeared  after  a  short  time  with 
another  sugar-bowl,  filled  with  fresh  lumps.  Noticing  this, 
the  traveller,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  his  harmless 
deviation  from  Swedish  customs  had  really  contaminated 
the  whole  sugar-bowl,  sweetened  his  second  cup  in  the  same 
manner.  The  result  was  precisely  the  same  :  the  servant 
was  again  sent  out,  and  again  returned  with  a  fresh  supply 
The  traveller,  thereupon,  coolly  walked  to  the  stove,  opened 
Ihe  door,  and  threw  in  his  cup,,  saucer,  and  teaspoon 
affecting  to  take  it  for  granted  that  they  never  could  be  used 
Again. 

Speaking  of  King  Oscar  reminds  me  that,  I  should  not 


MANNERS  AND  MORALS  OP  STOCKHOLM.          215 

fail  to  say  a  word  about  this  liberal  and  enlightened  mon- 
arch. There  is  probably  no  king  in  Europe  at  present,  wh« 
posses?es  such  extensive  acquirements,  or  is  animated  by  a 
more  genuine  desire  for  the  good  of  his  kingdom.  The 
slow  progress  which  Sweden  has  made  in  introducing  need- 
ful reforms  isowin<.r  to  the  conservative  spirit  of  the  nobility 
and  the  priesthood,  who  possess  half  the  legislative  power 
I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  greater  enemy  to  progress  than 
an  established  church.  Oscar  is  deservedly  popular  through- 
out Sweden,  and  I  wish  I  could  believe  that  his  successor 
will  exhibit  equal  intelligence  and  liberality.  During  my 
stay  T  saw  all  the  members  of  the  Royal  Family  frequently, 
and  once  had  an  informal  self-presentation  to  the  whole  of 
them.  I  was  descending  the  stairway  of  Kahn's  Hotel  one 
afternoon,  when  a  tall,  black-bearded,  Prenchy  gentleman 
coming  up,  brushed  so  close  to  me  in  the  narrow  passage 
that  he  received  the  full  benefit  of  a  cloud  of  smoke  which  I 
was  ejaculating.  It  was  the  Cro'.vn  Prince,  as  a  servant 
whispered  to  me,  but  as  my  cigar  was  genuine  Havana,  and 
he  is  said  to  be  a  connoisseur  of  the  article,  there  was  no 
harm  done.  As  I  reached  the  street  door  a  dragoon  dashed 
up,  preceding  the  carriages  containing  the  Royal  Family, 
who  were  coming  to  view  Professor  Enslen's  panoramas. 
First,  the  Crown  Princess,  with  her  children ;  she  bowed 
gracefully  in  answer  to  my  greeting.  The  Princess  Euge- 
nia, a  lady  of  twenty-seven,  or  thereabouts,  with  a  thor- 
oughly cheerful  and  amiable  face,  came  next  and  nodded, 
Smiling.  With  her  was  the  Queen,  a  daughter  of  Eugene 
Beauharnais,  a  handsome  woman  for  her  years,  with  the 
lark  hair  and  eyes  of  her  grandmother,  Josephine.  King 


NORTHERN   TRAVF.T,. 


Oscar  followed,  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  officers  ind 
nobles,  among  whom  was  his  second  son,  Prince  Oscar,  the 
handsomest  young  man  in  Stockholm.  He  wore  hisAdmi 
ral's  uniform,  and  made  me  a  naval  salute  as  he  passed 
The  King  is  about  medium  height,  with  a  symmetrical  head, 
a  bold,  finely-cut  nose,  keen,  intelligent  eyes,  and  a  heavy 
grey  moustache.  There  was  something  gallant,  dashing 
and  manly  in  his  air,  despite  his  fifty-seven  years.  He  gave 
me  the  impression  of  an  honest,  energetic  and  thoroughly 
accomplished  man;  and  this  is  the  character  he  bears 
throughout  Sweden,  except  with  a  small  class,  who  charge 
him  with  being  insincere,  and  too  much  under  the  influence 
of  the  Queen,  against  whom,  however,  they  can  find  no 
charge,  except  that  of  her  Catholicism. 

I  was  sorry  to  notice,  not  only  in  Stockholm,  but  more 
or  less  throughout  Sweden,  a  spirit  of  detraction  in  regard 
to  everything  Swedish.  Whenever  I  mentioned  with  ad- 
miration the  name  of  a  distinguished  Swede,  I  was  almost 
always  sure  to  hear,  in  return,  some  disparaging  remark,  or 
a  story  to  his  disadvantage.  Yet,  singularly  enough,  the 
Swedes  are  rather  sensitive  to  foreign  criticism,  seeming  to 
reserve  for  themselves  the  privilege  of  being  censorious. 
No  amount  of  renown,  nor  even  the  sanctity  which  death 
gives  to  genius,  can  prevent  a  certain  class  of  them  from 
exhibiting  the  vices  and  weaknesses  of  their  countrymen 
Much  the  severest  things  which  I  heard  said  about  Sweden, 
were  said  by  Swedes  themselves,  and  I  was  frequently 
obliged  to  rely  upon  iny  own  contrary  impressions,  to  pro- 
tect me  from  the  chance  of  being  persuaded  to  paint  thing* 
worse  than  they  really  are. 


MANNERS   AND  MORALS  OF   STOCKHOLM.  21? 

Just  before  leaving  Stockholm  I  made  application 
through  the  Hon.  Mr.  Schroeder,  our  Minister  Resident 
and  Baron  Lagerheim,  for  the  privilege  of  an  interview 
with  the  king.  A  few  days  previously,  however,  he  haa 
been  attacked  with  that  illness  which  has  obliged  him  to 
withdraw  from  the  labours  of  government,  and  was  advised 
by  his  physicians  to  receive  no  one.  He  sent  me  a  very  kind 
message,  with  an  invitation  to  renew  my  request  as  soon  as 
his  health  should  be  restored.  Gentlemen  who  had  oppor 
tunities  of  knowing  the  fact,  assured  me  that  his  health 
broke  down  under  an  accumulation  of  labour  and  anxiety, 
in  his  endeavours  to  bring  the  question  of  religious  liberty 
before  the  Diet — a  measure  in  which  he  had  to  contend  with 
the  united  influence  of  the  clergy,  the  House  of  Peasants, 
whom  the  clergy  rule  to  a  great  extent,  and  a  portion  of  the 
House  of  Nobles.  It  is  not  often  that  a  king  is  in  advance 
of  the  general  sentiment  of  his  people,  and  in  losing  the  ser- 
vices of  Oscar,  I  fear  that  Sweden  has  lost  her  best  man. 
The  Crown  Prince,  now  Prince  Regent,  is  said  to  be  amia- 
bly weak  in  his  character,  rather  reactionary  in  his  views, 
and  very  ambitious  of  military  glory.  At  least,  that  is  the 
average  of  the  various  opinions  which  I  heard  expressed  con- 
terning  him. 

After  speaking  of  the  manners  of  Stockholm,  I  must  not 
close  this  chapter  without  saying  a  few  words  about  its  mor- 
als. It  has  been  called  the  most  licentious  city  in  Europe, 
and,  I  have  no  doubt,  with  the  most  perfect  justice.  Vienna 
may  surpass  it  in  the  amount  of  conjugal  infidelity,  but  cer- 
tainly not  in  general  incontinence  Very  nearly  half  the 
registered  births  are  illegitimate,  to  say  nothing  of  the  ille- 


218  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

gitimate  children  born  in  wedlock.  Of  the  servant-girls 
shop-girls  and  seamstresses  in  the  city,  it  is  very  safe  to  say 
that  scarcely  ten  out  of  a  hundred  are  chaste,  while,  as  rakish 
young  Swedes  have  coolly  informed  me.  many  girls  of  respect- 
able parentage,  belonging  to  the  middle  class,  are  not  much 
better.  The  men,  of  course,  are  much  worse  than  the  women 
and  even  in  Paris  one  sees  fewer  physical  signs  of  excessive 
debauchery.  Here,  the  number  of  broken-down  young  men 
and  blear  eyed,  hoary  sinners,  is  astonishing.  I  have  nevei 
been  in  any  place  where  licentiousness  was  so  open  and 
avowed — and  yet,  where  the  slang  of  a  sham  morality  was 
BO  prevalent.  There  are  no  houses  of  prostitution  in  Stock- 
holm, and  the  city  would  be  scandalised  at  the  idea  of  allow- 
ing such  a  thing.  A  few  years  ago  two  were  established 
and  the  fact  was  no  sooner  known  than  a  virtuous  moh  arose 
and  violently  pulled  them  down!  At  the  restaurants,  young 
blades  order  their  dinners  of  the  female  waiters,  with  an  arm 
around  their  waists,  while  the  old  men  place  their  hands  un- 
blushingly  upon  their  bosoms.  All  the  baths  in  Stockholm 
are  attended  by  women  (generally  middle-aged  and  hideous, 
[  must  confess),  who  perform  the  usual  scrubbing  and  sham- 
pooing with  the  greatest  nonchalance.  One  does  not  wonder 
when  he  is  told  of  young  men  who  have  passed  safely  through 
the  ordeals  of  Berlin  and  Paris,  and  have  come  at  last  to 
Stockholm  to  be  ruined.* 

*  The  substance  of  the  foregoing  paragraph  was  contained  in  a  letter 
published  in  The  New-York  Tribune  during  my  travels  in  the  North,  and 
which  was  afterwards  translated  and  commented  upon  by  the  Swedish 
papers.  The  latter  charged  me  with  having  drawn  too  dark  a  picture 
ind  T  therefore  took  son-  e  pains  to  test  my  statements,  both  by  means  of 


MANNERS   AND   MORALS   OF   STOCKHOLM.  21$ 

It  is  but  fair  to  say  that  the  Swedes  account  for  the  large 
proportion  of  illegitimate  births,  by  stating  that  many  un- 
fortunate females  come  up  from  the  country  to  hide  their 
ghame  in  the  capital,  which  is  no  doubt  true.  Everything  tha* 
I  have  said  has  been  derived  from  residents  of  Stockholm 
who,  proud  as  they'  are,  and  sensitive,  cannot  conceal  this 


the  Government  statistics,  and  the  views  of  my  Swedish  friends.  I  see 
no  reason  to  change  mr  first  impression :  had  I  accepted  all  that  was  told 
me  by  natives  of  the  capital,  I  should  have  made  the  picture  much  darker 
The  question  is  simply  whether  there  is  much  difference  between  the 
general  adoption  of  illicit  connections,  or  the  existence  of  open  prostitu- 
tion. The  latter  is  almost  unknown ;  the  former  is  almost  universal,  the 
supply  being  kept  up  by  the  miserable  rates  of  wages  paid  to  female  ser- 
vants and  seamstresses.  The  former  get,  on  an  average,  fifty  rigsdaler 
($13)  per  year,  out  of  which  they  must  clothe  themselves:  few  of  the 
latter  can  make  one  rigsdaler  a  day.  These  connections  are  also  enconr 
aged  by  the  fact,  that  marriage  legitimates  all  the  children  previously 
born.  In  fact,  during  the  time  of  my  visit  to  Stockholm,  a  measure  was 
proposed  in  the  House  of  Clergy,  securing  to  bastards  the  same  right  o\ 
inheritance,  as  to  legitimate  children.  Such  measures,  however  just  they 
may  be  so  far  as  the  innocent  offspring  of  a  guilty  connection  are  con- 
cerned, have  a  direct  tendency  to  impair  the  sanctity  of  marriage,  and 
consequently  the  general  standard  of  morality. 

This,  the  most  vital  of  all  the  social  problems,  is  strangely  neglected 
The  diseases  and  excesses  which  it  engenders  are  far  more  devastating 
than  those  which  spring  from  any  other  vice,  and  yet  no  philanthropist 
is  bold  enough  to  look  the  question  in  the  face.  The  virtuous  shrink 
from  it,  the  vicious  don't  care  about  it,  the  godly  simply  condemn,  and 
the  ungodly  indulge — and  so  the  world  rolls  on,  and  hundreds  of  thuu 
•ands  go  down  annually  to  utter  ruin.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  the  ex 
Hrpation  of  a  vice  which  is  inherent  in  the  very  nature  of  man,  and  thf 
alternative  of  either  utterly  ignoring,  or  of  attempting  to  check  and 
fcgnlate  it,  is  a  question  of  the  most  vital  importance  to  the  whole  ha 
man  race. 


220  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

glaring  depravity.  The  population  of  Stockholm,  as  is 
proved  by  statistics,  has  only  been  increased  during  the  last 
fifty  years  by  immigration  from  the  country,  the  number  of 
deaths,  among  the  inhabitants  exceeding  the  births  b) 
several  hundreds  every  year.  I  was  once  speaking  with  a 
Swede  about  these  facts,  which  he  seeme'd  inclined  to  doubt. 
*  But,"  said  I,  u  they  are  derived  from  your  own  statistics.*' 
"  Well,"  he  answered,  with  a  naive  attempt  to  find  some 
compensating  good,  "  you  must  at  least  admit  that  the  Swed- 
ish statistics  are  as  exact  as  any  in  the  world  !" 

Drunkenness  is  a  leading  vice  among  the  Swedes,  as  we  had 
daily  evidence.  Six  years  ago  the  consumption  of  brandy 
throughout  the  kingdom  was  nine  gallons  for  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  annually ;  but  it  has  decreased  consider- 
ably since  then,  mainly  through  the  manufacture  of  beer  and 
porter.  "  Bajerskt  ol"  (Bavarian  beer)  is  now  to  be  had 
everywhere,  and  is  rapidly  becoming  the  favourite  drink  of 
the  people.  Sweden  and  the  United  States  will  in  the  end 
establish  the  fact  that  lager  beer  is  more  efficacious  in  pre- 
venting intemperance  than  any  amount  of  prohibitory  law. 
Brandy-drinking  is  still,  nevertheless,  one  of  the  greatest 
surses  of  Sweden.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  to  see  boys  of 
twelve  or  fourteen  take  their  glass  of  fiery  finkel  before  din- 
ner. The  celebrated  Swedish  punch,  made  of  arrack,  wine, 
and  sugar,  is  a  universal  evening  drink,  and  one  of  the  most 
insidious  ever  invented,  despite  its  agreeable  flavor.  There 
is  a  movement  in  favor  of  total  abstinence,  but  it  seems  to 
have  made  but  little  progress,  except  as  it  is  connected  with 
Borne  of  the  new  religious  ideas,  which  are  now  preached 
throughout  the  country. 


MANNERS  AND  MORALS   OF  STOCKHOLM.  ^2  I 

I  have  rarely  witnessed  a  sadder  example  of  ruin,  than  one 
evening  jn  a  Stockholm  cafS.  A  tall,  distinguished-looking 
man  of  about  forty,  in  an  advanced  state  of  drunkenness,  wa* 
seated  at  a  table  opposite  to  us.  He  looked  at  me  awhile, 
apparently  endeavoring  to  keep  hold  of  some  thought  with 
which  his  mind  was  occupied.  Rising  at  last  he  staggered 
across  the  room,  stood  before  me.  and  repeated  the  words  of 
Bellman : 

"  Si  vandra  vara  etora  man* 
Fran  ljuset  ned  til  skuggan."  * 

A  wild,  despairing  laugh  followed  the  lines,  and  he  turned 
away,  but  came  back  again  and  again  to  repeat  them.  He 
was  a  noblen.an  of  excellent  family,  a  man  of  great  intel- 
lectual attainments,  who,  a  few  years  ago,  was  considered  one 
of  the  most  promising  young  men  in  Sweden.  I  saw  him 
frequently  afterwards,  and  always  in  the  same  condition,  but 
he  never  accosted  me  again.  The  Swedes  say  the  same 
thing  of  Bellman  himself,  and  of  Tegncr,  and  many  others, 
with  how  much  justice  I  care  not  to  know,  for  a  man's 
faults  are  to  be  accounted  for  to  God,  and  not  to  a  gossiping 
public. 

'  "  Thus  oui  great  men  wander  from  the  light  down  into  the  shades  ' 


222  NORTHERN'    TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

JOURNEY    TO    GOTTENBURG    AND    COPENHAGEN. 

I  NEVER  knew  a  more  sudden  transition  from  winter  to 
summer  than  \vc  experienced  on  the  journey  south  ward  from 
Stockholm.  When  we  left  that  city  on  the  evening  of  the 
6th  of  May,  there  were  no  signs  of  spring  except  a  few 
early  violets  and  anemones  on  the  sheltered  southern  banks 
in  Haga  Park  ;  the  grass  was  still  brown  and  dead,  the  trees 
bare,  and  the  air  keen  ;  but  the  harbour  was  free  from  ice 
and  the  canal  open,  and  our  winter  isolation  was  therefore  at 
an  end.  A  little  circulation  entered  into  the  languid  veins 
of  society;  steamers  from  Germany  began  to  arrive;  fresh 
faces  appeared  in  the  streets,  and  leas  formal  costumes — 
merchants  and  bagmen  only,  it  is  true,  but  people  of  a  more 
dashing  and  genial  air.  We  were  evidently,  as  the  Swedes 
said,  leaving  Stockholm  just  as  it  began  to  be  pleasant  and 
lively. 

The  steamer  left  the  Riddarholm  pier  at  midnight,  an 
took  her  way  westward  up  the  Malar  Lake  to  Sodertelje. 
The  boats  which  ply  on  the  Gotha  canal  are  small,  but  neat 
and  comfort  able.     The  price  of  a  passage  to  Gottenburg,  a 
distance  of  370  miles,  is  about  $8.50.     This,  however,  does 


JOfRXF.Y   TO   GOTTKXHI  KG    AXT>    COI'KXHAGEN.  223 

not  include  meals,  which  are  furnished  at  a  fixed  price, 
amounting  to  $6  more.  The  time  occupied  by  the  voyage 
varut-;  from  two  and  a  half  to  four  days.  In  the  night  we 
passed  through  the  lock  at  Sdderteljc,  where  St.  Olaf.  when 
a  heathen  Viking,  cut  a  channel  for  his  ships  into  the  long 
Baltic  estuary  which  here  closely  approaches  the  lake,  and  in 
the  morning  found  ourselves  running  down  the  eastern  shore 
of  Sweden,  under  the  shelter  of  its  fringe  of  jagged  rocky 
islets.  Towards  noon  we  left  the  Baltic,  and  steamed  up 
the  long,  narrow  Bay  of  S5derk5ping,  passing,  on  the  way, 
the  magnificent  ruins  of  Stegeborg  Castle,  the  first  mediae- 
val relic  I  had  seen  in  Sweden.  Its  square  massive  walls,  and 
tall  round  tower  of  grey  stone,  differed  in  no  respect  from 
those  of  cotemporary  ruins  in  Germany. 

Before  reaching  S5derkoping,  we  entered  the  canal,  a 
very  complete  and  substantial  work  of  the  kind,  about  eighty 
feet  in  breadth,  but  much  more  crooked  than  would  seem  to 
be  actually  necessary.  For  this  reason  the  boats  make  but 
moderate  speed,  averaging  not  more  than  six  or  seven  milea 
an  hour,  exclusive  of  the  detention  at  the  locks.  The 
country  is  undulating,  and  neither  rich  nor  populous  before 
reaching  the  beautiful  Rox-en  Lake,  beyond  which  we  en 
tered  upon  a  charming  district.  Here  the  canal  rises,  by 
eleven  successive  locks,  to  the  rich  uplands  separating  the 
Iloxen  from  the  Wetter,  a  prently  rolling  plain,  chequered, 
so  far  as  the  eve  could  ivach.  with  pveii  squares  uf  spring- 
ing wheat  and  the  dark  mould  of  the  newly  ploughed  bar- 
ley fields.  While  the  boat  was  passing  the  locks,  we  walk- 
ed forward  to  a  curious  old  church,  called  Yreta  K luster. 
The  building  dates  from  the  year  1128,  and  contains  the 


324  \ORTHKRX    TRVVEL. 

tombs  of  three  Swedish  kings,  together  with  that  of  tht 
Count  Douglas,  who  fled  hither  from  Scotland  in  the  time 
of  Cromwell.  The  Douglas  estate  is  in  this  neighbour- 
hood, and  is,  I  believe,  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family. 
The  church  must  at  one  time  have  presented  a  fine,  vener- 
able appearance :  but  all  its  dark  rich  colouring  and  gilding 
are  now  buried  under  a  thick  coat  of  white  wash. 

We  had  already  a  prophecy  of  the  long  summer  days  of 
the  North,  in  the  perpetual  twilight  which  lingered  in  the 
sky,  moving  around  from  sunset  to  sunrise.  During  the 
second  night  we  crossed  the  Wetter  Lake,  which  I  did  not 
see ;  for  when  I  came  on  deck  we  were  already  on  the  Viken, 
the  most  beautiful  sheet  of  water  between  Stockholm  and 
Gottenburg.  Its  irregular  shores,  covered  with  forests  of  fir 
and  birch,  thrust  out  long  narrow  headlands  which  divide  it 
into  deep  bays,  studded  with  wild  wooded  islands.  But  the 
scenery  was  still  that  of  winter,  except  in  the  absence  of  ice 
and  snow.  We  had  not  made  much  southing,  but  we  ex- 
pected to  find  the  western  side  of  Sweden  much  warmer  than 
the  eastern.  The  highest  part  of  the  canal,  more  than  300 
feet  above  the  sea,  was  now  passed,  however,  and  oa  we  des- 
cended the  long  barren  hills  towards  the  Wener  Lukft  I  found 
a  few  early  wild  flowers  in  the  woods.  In  the  afteinoon  we 
same  upon  the  Wener,  the  third  lake  in  Europe,  b^ing  one 
hundred  miles  in  extent  by  about  fifty  in  breadth.  To  the 
west,  it  spread  away  to  a  level  line  against  #he  sky ;  but,  as 
I  looked  southward.  I  perceived  two  opposite  promontories, 
with  scattered  islands  between,  dividing  the  body  of  water 
into  almost  equal  portions.  The  scenery  of  the  Wener  has 
great  resemblance  to  that  of  the  northern  portion  of  Lake 


JOURNEY  TC  GOTTEXI5URG  AND  COPENHAGEN 

Michigan.  Further  down  on  the  eastern  shore,  the  hill  oi 
Kinuekulle,  the  highest  land  in  Southern  Sweden,  rises  tc 
the  height  of  nearly  a  thousand  feet  above  the  water,  with  a 
graceful  and  very  gradual  sweep  ;  but  otherwise  the  scenery 
s  rather  tame,  and,  I  suspect,  depends  for  most  of  its  beauty 
upon  the  summer  foliage. 

There  were  two  or  three  intelligent  and  agreeable  pas- 
Bengers  on  board,  who  showed  a  more  than  usual  knowledge 
of  America  and  her  institutions.  The  captain,  however,  as 
we  walked  the  deck  together,  betrayed  the  same  general  im- 
pression which  prevails  throughout  the  Continent  (Germany 
in  particular),  that  we  are  a  thoroughly  material  people, 
having  little  taste  for  or  appreciation  of  anything  which  is 
not  practical  and  distinctly  utilitarian.  Nothing  can  be 
further  from  the  truth  ;  yet  I  have  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
making  people  comprehend  that  a  true  feeling  for  science, 
art.  and  literature  can  co-exist  with  our  great  practical 
genius  There  is  more  intellectual  activity  in  the  Free 
States  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  a  more  general 
cultivation,  and,  taking  the  collective  population,  I  venture 
to  say,  a  more  enlightened  taste.  Nowhere  ;ire  greater  sums 
spent  for  books  and  works  of  art,  or  for  the  promotion  oi 
scientific  objects.  Yet  this  cry  of  "  Materialism"  has  be- 
come the  cant  and  slang  of  European  talk  concerning  Amer- 
ica, and  is  obtruded  so  frequently  and  so  offensively  that  1 
have  sometimes  been  inclined  to  doubt  whether  the  good 
breeding  of  Continental  society  has  not  been  too  highly 
rated. 

While  on  the  steamer,  I  heard  a  \  interesting  story  of  a 
Swedish  nobleman,  who  is  at  present  attempting  a  practica' 


226  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

| 

protest  against  the  absurd  and  fossilised  ideas  by  which  his 
class  is  governed.  The  nobility  of  Sweden  are  as  proud  as 
they  are  poor,  and,  as  the  father's  title  is  inherited  by  each 
of  his  sons,  the  country  is  overrun  with  Counts  and  Barons 
who,  repudiating  any  means  of  support  that  is  not  somehow 
connected  with  the  service  of  the  government,  live  in  a  con- 
tinual state  of  debt  and  dilapidation.  Count  R ,  how- 
ever, has  sense  enough  to  know  that  honest  labor  is  alwaya 
bouourable,  and  has  brought  up  his'  eldest  son  to  earn  hig 
living  by  the  work  of  his  own  hands.  For  the  past  three 
years,  the  latter  has  been  in  the  United  States,  working  as 
a  day-labourer  on  farms  and  on  Western  railroads.  His  ex- 
periences, I  learn,  have  not  been  agreeable,  but  he  is  a  young 
man  of  too  much  spirit  and  courage  to  give  up  the  attempt, 
and  has  hitherto  refused  to  listen  to  the  entreaties  of  his 
family,  that  he  shall  come  home  and  take  charge  of  one  of 
his  father's  estates.  The  second  son  is  now  a  clerk  in  a 
mercantile  house  in  Gottenburg,  while  the  Count  has  given 
his  daughter  in  marriage  to  a  radical  and  untitled  editor, 
whose  acquaintance  I  was  afterwards  so  fortunate  as  to  make, 
and  who  confirmed  the  entire  truth  of  the  story. 

We  were  to  pass  the  locks  at  Trollhitta  in  the  middle  of 
the  night,  bnt  I  determined  to  visit  the  celebrated  falls  of 
the  Gdtha  River,  even  at  such  a  time,  and  gave  orders  that 
we  should  be  called.  The  stupid  boy,  however,  woke  up  th« 
wrong  passenger,  and  the  last  locks  were  reached  before  the 
mistake  was  discovered.  By  sunrise  we  had  reached  Lilla 
Edet,  on  the  GStha  River,  where  the  buds  were  swelling  on 
the  early  trees,  and  the  grass,  in  sunny  places,  showed  a 
little  sprouting  greenness.  We  shot  rapidly  down  the  swifl 


JOURNEtf  TO  GOTTENBURG  AND  COPENHAGEN.       227 

brown  stream,  between  brown,  bald,  stony  hills,  whose  forests 
have  all  been  stripped  off  to  feed  the  hostile  camp-fires  of 
past  centuries.  Bits  of  bottom  land,  held  in  the  curves  of 
the  river,  looked  rich  and  promising,  and  where  the  hills  fell 
back  a  little,  there  were  groves  and  country-houses — but  th 
scenery,  in  general,  was  bleak  and  unfriendly,  until  we  drew 
near  Gotteuburg.  Two  round,  detached  forts,  built  accord- 
ing to  Vauban's  ideas  (which  the  Swedes  say  he  stole  from 
Sweden,  where  they  were  already  in  practice)  announced  our 
approach,  and  before  noon  we  were  alongside  the  pier.  Here, 
to  my  great  surprise,  a  Custom-house  officer  appeared  and 
asked  us  to  open  our  trunks.  "  But  we  came  by  the  canal 
from  Stockholm  !"  "  That  makes  no  difference,"  he  replied; 
"  your  luggage  must  be  examined."  I  then  appealed  to  the 
saptain,  who  stated  that,  in  consequence  of  the  steamer's 
being  obliged  to  enter  the  Baltic  waters  for  two  or  three 
hours  between  Sodertelje  and  Soderkoping,  the  law  took  it 
for  granted  that  we  might  have  boarded  some  foreign  vessel 
during  that  time  and  procured  contraband  goods.  In  other 
words,  though  sailing  in  a  narrow  sound,  between  the  Swed- 
ish islands  and  the  Swedish  coast,  we  had  virtually  been  in 
a  foreign  country  !  It  would  scarcely  be  believed  that  this 
sagacious  law  is  of  quite  recent  enactment. 

We  remained  until  the  next  morning  in  Gottenburg. 
This  is,  in  every  respect,  a  more  energetic  and  wide- awake 
place  than  Stockholm.  It  has  not  the  same  unrivalled 
beauty  of  position,  but  is  more  liberally  laid  out  and  kept 
in  better  order.  Although  the  population  is  only  about 
40,000,  its  commerce  is  much  greater  than  that  of  the  capital 
and  so  are,  proportionately,  its  wealth  and  public  spirit 


228  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

The  Magister  Hedlund,  a  very  intelligent  and  accomplished 
gentleman,  to  whom  I  had  a  letter  from  Mfigge,  the  novelist, 
took  me  up  the  valley  a  distance  of  five  or  six  miles,  to  a 
very  picturesque  village  among  the  hills,  which  is  fast 
growing  into  a  manufacturing  town.  Large  cotton,  woollen 
and  paper  mills  bestride  a  strong  stream,  which  has  such  a 
tall  that  it  leaps  from  one  mill-wheel  to  another  for  the 
distance  of  nearly  half  a  mile.  On  our  return,  we  visited  a 
number  of  wells  hollowed  in  the  rocky  strata  of  the  hills,  to 
which  the  country  people  have  given  the  name  of  "  The 
Giant's  Pots."  A  clergyman  of  the  neighbourhood,  even, 
has  written  a  pamphlet  to  prove  that  they  were  the  work  of 
the  antediluvian  giants,  who  excavated  them  for  the  purpose 
of  mixing  dough  for  their  loaves  of  bread  and  batter  for 
their  puddings.  They  are  simply  those  holes  which  a  peb- 
ble grinds  in  a  softer  rock,  under  the  rotary  action  of  a  cur- 
rent of  water,  but  on  an  immense  scale,  some  of  them  being 
ten  feet  in  diameter,  by  fifteen  or  eighteen  in  depth.  At 
Herr  Hedlund's  house,  I  met  a  number  of  gentlemen,  whose 
courtesy  and  intelligence  gave  me  a  very  favourable  impres- 
sion of  the  society  of  the  place. 

The  next  morning,  at  five  o'clock,  the  steamer  Viken, 
from  Christiania,  arrived,  and  we  took  passage  for  Copen- 
hagen. After  issuing  from  the  Skdrgaard,  or  rocky  archi- 
pelago which  protects  the  approach  to  Gottenbur?  from  the 
sea,  we  made  a  direct  course  to  Elsinore,  down  the  Swedish 
coast,  but  too  distant  to  observe  more  than  its  general  out- 
line. This  part  of  Sweden,  however — the  province  of 
Halland— is  very  rough  and  stony,  and  not  until  after 
passing  the  Sound  does  one  see  the  fertile  hills  and  vales  of 


JOURNEY   TO   GOTTENBtTRG   ANT)   COPENHAGEN.  229 

Scania.  The  Cattegat  was  as  smooth  as  an  inland  sea,  and 
our  voyage  could  not  have  been  pleasanter.  In  the  afternoon 
Zealand  rose  blue  from  the  wave,  and  the  increase  in  the 
number  of  small  sailing  craft  denoted  our  approach  to  the 
Sound.  The  opposite  shores  drew  nearer  to  each  other,  and 
finally  the  spires  of  Helsingborg,  on  the  Swedish  shore,  and 
the  square  mass  of  Kronborg  Castle,  under  the  guns  of 
which  the  Sound  dues  have  been  so  long  demanded,  appeared 
in  sight.  In  spite  of  its  bare,  wintry  aspect,  the  panorama 
was  charming.  The  picturesque  Gothic  buttresses  and 
gables  of  Kronborg  rose  above  the  zigzag  of  its  turfed  out- 
works ;  beyond  were  the  houses  and  gardens  of  HelsingSr 
(Elsinore) — while  on  the  glassy  breast  of  the  Sound  a  fleet 
of  merchant  vessels  lay  at  anchor,  and  beyond,  the  fields  and 
towES  of  Sweden  gleamed  in  the  light  of  the  setting  sun. 
Yet  here,  again,  I  must  find  fault  with  Campbell,  splendid 
lyrist  as  he  is.  We  should  have  been  sailing 

"  By  thy  wild  and  stormy  steep, 
Elainore !" 

only  that  the  level  shore,  with  its  fair  gardens  and  groves, 
wouldn't  admit  the  possibility  of  such  a  thing.  The  music 
of  the  line  remains  the  same,  but  you  must  not  read  it  on 
the  spot 

There  was  a  beautiful  American  clipper  at  anchor  off  the 
Castle.  "  There,"  said  a  Danish  passenger  to  me,  "  is  one 
jf  the  ships  which  have  taken  from  us  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Sound."  "  I  am  very  glad  of  it,''  I  replied ;  "  and  I  can  only 
Bonder  v,  hy  the  mar  time  nations  of  Europe  have  so  long 

robmitted  to  such  an  imposition."     "  I  am  glad,  also,"  said 
11 


230  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

he,  "  that  the  question  has  at  last  been  settled,  and  our  pri 
vilege  given  up — and  I  believe  we  are  all,  even  the  Govern- 
ment itself,  entirely  satisfied  with  the  arrangement."  1 
heard  the  same  opinion  afterwards  expressed  in  Copenhagen 
and  felt  gratified,  as  an  American,  to  hear  the  result  attri 
buted  to  the  initiative  taken  by  our  Government ;  but  I  also 
remembered  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company, 
and  could  not  help  wishing  that  the  same  principle  might  be 
applied  at  home.  We  have  a  Denmark,  lying  between 
New-York  and  Philadelphia,  and  I  have  often  paid  satta 
dues  for  crossing  her  territory. 

At  dusk,  we  landed  under  the  battlements  of  Copenhagen. 
"Are  you  travellers  or  merchants?"  asked  the  Custom-house 
officers.  "Travellers,"  we  replied.  "Then,"  was  the  an- 
swer, '•  there  is  no  necessity  for  examining  your  trunks,"  and 
we  were  politely  ushered  out  at  the  opposite  door,  and  droTc 
without  further  hindrance  to  a  hotel.  A  gentleman  from 
Stockholm  had  said  to  me :  "  When  you  get  to  Copenhagen 
you  will  find  yourself  in  Europe :"  and  1  was  at  once  struck 
with  the  truth  of  his  remark.  Although  Copenhagen  is  b) 
no  means  a  commercial  city — scarcely  more  so  than  Stock- 
holm— its  streets  are  gay,  brilliant  and  bustling,  and  have 
an  air  of  life  and  joyousness  which  contrasts  strikingly  with 
the  gravity  of  the  latter  capital.  From  without,  it  makes 
very  little  impression,  being  built  on  a  low,  level  ground; 
and  surrounded  by  high  earthen  fortifications,  but  its  inte- 
rior is  full  of  quaint  and  attractive  points.  There  is  already 
a  strong  admixture  of  the  German  element  in  the  population, 
Hoftening  by  its  warmth  and  frankness  the  Scandinavian 
•eeerve.  In  their  fondness  for  out-door  recreation,  the  Daiief 


JOURNEY  TO  GOTTEN BURG  AKD  COPENHAGEN.       23i 

quite  equal  the  Viennese,  and  their  Summer-garden  ci 
Tivoli  is  one  of  the  largest  and  liveliest  in  all  Europe.  In 
costume,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  individuality ;  in  manners, 
somewhat  of  independence.  The  Danish  nature  appears  to 
be  more  pliant  and  flexible  than  the  Swedish,  but  I  canno 
judge  whether  the  charge  of  inconstancy  and  dissimulation, 
which  I  have  heard  brought  against  it,  is  just.  With  regard 
to  morals,  Copenhagen  is  said  to  be  an  improvement  upon 
Stockholm. 

During  our  short  stay  of  three  days,  we  saw  the  prin- 
cipal sights  of  the  place.  The  first,  and  one  of  the  plea- 
santest  to  me,  was  the  park  of  Rosenberg  Palace,  with  its 
fresh,  green  turf,  starred  with  dandelions,  and  its  grand 
avenues  of  chestnuts  and  lindens,  just  starting  into  leaf. 
On  the  llth  of  May,  we  found  spring  at  last,  after  six 
months  of  uninterrupted  winter.  1  don't  much  enjoy  going 
the  round  of  a  new  city,  attended  by  a  valet-de-place,  and 
performing  the  programme  laid  down  by  a  guide-book,  nor 
is  it  an  agreeable  task  to  describe  such  things  in  catalogue 
style;  so  I  shall  merely  say  that  the  most  interesting  things 
in  Copenhagen  are  the  Museum  of  Northern  Antiquities, 
the  Historical  Collections  in  Rosenborg  Palace,  Thorwald- 
sen's  Museum,  and  1,he  Church  of  our  Lady,  containing  the 
great  sculptor's  statues  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles.  We 
have  seen  very  good  casts  of  the  latter  in  New- York,  but 
one  must  visit  the  Museum  erected  by  the  Danish  people, 
which  is  also  Thorwaldsen's  mausoleum,  to  learn  the  num- 
oer,  variety  and  beauty  of  his  worka  Here  are  the  caste 
of  between  three  and  four  hundred  statues,  busts  and  bas 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 


reliefs,  with  a  number  in  marble.     No  artist  h:is  e/er  had  s<i 
noble  a  monument. 

On  the  day  after  my  arrival,  I  sent  a  note  t  >  Hans  Chris« 
tian  Andersen,  reminding  him  of  the  greeting  which  he  had 
nee  sent  me  through  a  rnutua'  friend,  and  asking  him  to 
appoint  an  hour  for  me  to  call  upon  him.  The  same  after- 
noon, as  I  was  sitting  in  my  room,  the  door  quietly  opened, 
and  a  tall,  loosely-jointed  figure  entered.  He  wore  a  neat 
*rening  dress  of  black,  with  a  white  cravat  ;  his  head  was 
thrown  back,  and  his  plain,  irregular  features  wore  an  ex- 
pression of  the  greatest  cheerfulness  and  kindly  humour.  I 
recognised  him  at  once,  and  forgetting  that  we  had  never  met 
—  so  much  did  beseem  like  an  old,  familiar  acquaintance  — 
cried  out  "  Andersen  !"  and  jumped  up  to  greet  him.  "  Ah,'J 
said  he  stretching  out  both  his  hands,  "here  you  are!  Now 
I  should  have  been  vexed  if  you  had  gone  through  Copenha- 
gen and  I  had  not  known  it."  He  sat  down,  and  I  had  a 
delightful  hour's  chat  with  him.  One  sees  the  man  so  plain- 
ly in  his  works,  that  his  readers  may  almost  be  said  to  know 
him  personally.  He  is  thoroughly  simple  and  natural,  and 
those  who  call  him  egotistical  forget  that  his  egotism  is  only 
a  naive  and  unthinking  sincerity,  like  that  of  a  child.  In 
fact,  he  is  the  youngest  man  for  his  years  that  I  ever  knew. 
u  When  I  was  sixteen,"  said  he,  "  I  used  to  think  to  myself, 
'  when  I  am  twenty-four,  then  will  I  be  old  indeed'  —  but  now 
[  am  fifty-two,  and  I  have  just  the  same  feeling  of  youth  as 
at  twenty."  He  was  greatly  delighted  when  Braisted,  whc 
was  in  the  room  with  me,  spoke  of  having  read  his  "  Impro- 
fisatore"  in  the  Sandwich  Islands.  "  Why,  is  it  possible  T 


JOURNEY  TO  GOTTENBURG  ANL>  COPENHAGEN        233 

he  exclaimed:  "  when  I  hear  of  my  b<xks  going  so  fai 
around  the  earth,  I  sometimes  wonder  if  it  can  be  really  true 
that  I  have  written  them."  He  explained  to  me  the  plot  ol 
his  new  novel.  "  To  Be,  or  Not  To  Be,"  and  ended  by  pre- 
senting me  with  the  illustrated  edition  of  his  stories.  "  Now 
don't  forget  me,;'  said  he,  with  a  delightful  entreaty  in  hij 
voice,  as  he  rose  to  leave,  "  for  we  shall  meet  again.  Were 
it  not  for  sea-sickness,  I  should  see  you  in  America;  and 
who  knows  but  I  may  come,  in  spite  of  it  ?"  God  bless 
you,  Andersen  !  1  said,  in  my  thoughts.  It  is  so  cheering 
to  meet  a  man  whose  very  weaknesses  are  made  attractive 
through  the  perfect  candour  of  his  nature! 

Goldschmidt,  the  author  of  "  The  Jew,"  whose  acquaint- 
ance I  made,  is  himself  a  Jew,  and  a  man  of  great  earnest- 
ness and  enthusiasm.  He  is  the  editor  of  the  "  North  and 
South/'  a  monthly  periodical,  and  had  just  completed,  as  he 
informed  me,  a  second  romance,  which  was  soon  to  be  pub- 
lished. Like  most  of  the  authors  and  editors  in  Northern 
Europe,  he  is  well  acquainted  with  American  literature. 

Professor  Rafn,  the  distinguished  archaeologist  of  North- 
ern lore,  is  still  as  active  as  ever,  notwithstanding  he  is  well 
advanced  in  years.  After  going  up  an  innumerable  number 
of  steps,  I  found  him  at  the  very  top  of  a  high  old  luilding 
in  the  KronpriiizctiS&ade,  in  a  study  crammed  with  old 
Norsk  and  Icelandic  volumes.  He  is  a  slender  old  man,  with 
a  thin  face,  and  high,  narrow  head,  clear  grey  eyes,  and  a 
hale  red  on  his  cheeks.  The  dust  of  antiquity  does  not  lie 
very  heavily  on  his  grey  locks;  his  enthusiasm  for  his  stud- 
ies is  of  that  fresh  and  lively  character  which  mellows  the 


234  NORTHERN  THA\EL. 

whole  nature  of  the  man  I  admired  and  enjoyed  it,  when 
after  being  fairly  started  on  his  favourite  topic,  he  opened 
Dne  <rf  his  own  splendid  folios,  and  read  me  some  ringing 
stanzas  of  Icelandic  poetry.  He  spoke  much  of  Mr.  Marsh, 
our  former  minister  to  Turkey,  whose  proficiency  in  the 
i  or  them  languages  he  considered  very  remarkable. 


RETURN   TO    THE   NORTH. — CliUlSTIAMA  285 


CHAPTER  XX. 

RETURN    TO    THE    NORTH. CHRISTIANIA. 

I  WAS  obliged  to  visit  both  Germany  and  England,  be- 
fore returning  to  spend  the  summer  in  Norway.  As  neither 
of  those  countries  comes  within  the  scope  of  the  present  work, 
I  shall  spare  the  reader  a  recapitulation  of  my  travels  lor 
eix  weeks  after  leaving  Copenhagen.  Midsummer's  Day 
was  ten  days  past  before  I  was  ready  to  resume  the  journey 
and  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  if  I  wished  to  see  the  mid 
night  sun  from  the  cliffs  of  the  North  Cape.  I  therefore 
took  the  most  direct  route  from  London,  by  the  way  of 
Hull,  whence  a  steamer  was  to  sail  on  the  3rd  of  July  for 
Christiania. 

We  chose  one  of  the  steamers  of  the  English  line,  to  our 
subsequent  regret,  as  the  Norwegian  vessels  are  preferable, 
In  most  respects.  I  went  on  board  on  Friday  evening,  and 
on  asking  for  my  berth,  was  taken  into  a  small  state-room 
containing  ten.  "  Oh,  there's  only  seven  gentleman  goin'  in 
here,  this  time,"  said  the  steward,  noticing  my  look  of  dis- 
may, "  and  then  you  can  sleep  on  a  sofa  in  the  saloon,  if 
f  ou  like  it  better."  On  referring  to  the  steamer's  framed 
H»Ftificate,  I  found  that  she  was  250  tons'  burden,  and  OOD 


836  NORTHKRN  TRAVEL. 

structed  to  carry  171  cabin  and  230  deck  passengers!  Thi 
state-room  for  ten  passengers  had  a  single  wash-basin,  bnt  1 
believe  we  had  as  many  as  four  small  towels,  which  was  a 
source  of  congratulation.  "  What  a  jolly  nice  boat  it  is !" 
I  heard  one  of  the  English  passengers  exclaim.  The  stew 
ard,  who  stood  up  for  the  dignity  of  the  vessel,  said :  *  Oh, 
you'll  find  it  very  pleasant ;  we  'ave  only  twenty  passengers 
and  we  once  'ad  heigh ty-f our." 

In  the  morning  we  were  upon  the  North  Sea,  rolling 
with  a  short,  nauseating  motion,  under  a  dismal,  rainy  sky. 
"  It  always  rains  when  you  leave  Hull,"  said  the  mate,  "  and 
it  always  rains  when  you  come  back  to  it."  I  divided  my 
time  between  sea  sickness  and  Charles  Reade's  novel  of 
"  Never  too  Late  to  Mend,"  a  cheery  companion  under  such 
circumstances.  The  purposed  rowdyism  of  the  man's  style 
shows  a  little  too  plainly,  but  his  language  is  so  racy  and 
muscular,  his  characters  so  fairly  and  sharply  drawn,  that 
one  must  not  be  censorious.  Towards  evening  I  remem- 
bered that  it  was  the  Fourth,  and  so  procured  a  specific  for 
sea-sickness,  with,  which  Braisted  and  1,  sitting  alone  on  the 
main  hatch,  in  the  rain,  privately  remembered  our  Father- 
land. There  was  on  board  an  American  sea-captain,  of  Nor- 
wegian birthj  as  I  afterwards  found,  who  would  gladly  have 
joined  us.  The  other  passengers  were  three  Norwegians, 
three  fossil  Englishmen,  two  snobbish  do.,  and  some  jolly 
good-natured,  free-and-easy  youths,  bound  to  Norway,  with 
logs,  guns,  rods,  fishing  tackle,  and  oil-cloth  overalls. 

We  had  a  fair  wind  and  smooth  sea,  but  the  most  favour- 
able circumstances  could  not  get  more  than  eight  knots  ar< 
hour  out  of  our  steamer.  After  forty-eight  hours,  however 


RETURN  TO    THE    NORTH. — CHRISTIAN1A.  23? 

the  coast  of  Norway  came  in  sight — a  fringe  of  scattered 
rocks,  behind  which  rose  bleak  hills,  enveloped  in  mist  and 
rain.  Our  captain,  who  had  been  running  on  this  route 
aome  years,  did  not  know  where  we  were,  and  was  for  put- 
ting to  sea  again,  but  one  of  the  Norwegian  passengers  of- 
fered his  services  as  pilot  and  soon  brought  us  to  the  fjord 
of  Christiansand.  We  first  passed  through  a  Sk&rgaard — 
archipelago,  or  "  garden  of  rocks,"  as  it  is  picturesquely 
termed  in  Norsk — and  then  oetween  hills  of  dark-red  rock 
covered  by  a  sprinkling,  of  fir-trees,  to  a  sheltered  and  tran 
quil  harbour,  upon  which  lay  the  little  town.  By  this  time 
the  rain  came  down,  not  in  drops,  but  in  separate  threads  or 
streams,  as  if  the  nozzle  of  an  immense  watering-pot  had  been 
held  over  us.  After  three  months  of  drouth,  which  had 
burned  up  the  soil  and  entirely  ruined  the  hay-crops,  it  was 
now  raining  for  the  first  time  in  Southern  Norway.  The 
young  Englishmen  bravely  put  on  their  water-proofs  and 
set  out  to  visit  the  town  in  the  midst  of  the  deluge;  but  as 
it  contains  no  sight  of  special  interest,  I  made  up  my  mind 
that,  like  Constantinople,  it  was  more  attractive  from  with- 
out than  within,  and  lemained  on  board.  An  amphitheatre 
of  rugged  hills  surrounds  the  place,  broken  only  by  a  charm- 
ing little  valley,  which  stretches  off  to  the  westward. 

Tin-  fishermen  brought  us  some  fresh  mackerel  for  our 
breakfast.  They  are  nut  more  than  half  the  size  of  ours, 
and  of  u  brighter  «riv.-n  alontr  the  back:  their  flavour,  how- 
ever, is  delicious.  With  these  mackerels,  four  salmons,  a 
custom-house  officer,  and  a  Norwegian  parson,  we  set  off  at 
noon  for  Christiania.  The  coa>t  was  visible!  but  at  a  con- 
siderable distance,  all  day.  Fleeting  gleams  of  sunshine 
11* 


238  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

sometimes  showed  the  broken  inland  ranges  of  mountains 
with  jagged  saw-tooth  peaks  shooting  up  here  and  there, 
When  night  came  there  was  no  darkness,  but  a  strong  golden 
gleam,  whereby  one  could  read  until  after  ten  o'clock.  We 
reached  the  mouth  of  Christiania  Fjord  a  little  after  mid- 
night, and  most  of  the  passengers  arose  to  view  the  scenery 
After  passing  the  branch  which  leads  to  Drammen,  the  fjord 
contracts  so  as  to  resemble  a  river  or  one  of  our  island-stud- 
ded New  England  lakes  The  alternation  of  bare  rocky 
islets,  red-ribbed  cliffs,  fir-woods,  grey-green  birchen  groves, 
tracts  of  farm  land,  and  red-frame  cottages,  rendered  this 
part  of  the  voyage  delightful,  although,  as  the  morning  ad- 
vanced, we  saw  everything  through  a  gauzy  veil  of  rain. 
Finally,  the  watering-pot  was  turned  on  again,  obliging  even 
oil  cloths  to  beat  a  retreat  to  the  cabin,  and  so  continued 
until  we  reached  Christiania. 

After  a  mild  custom-house  visitation,  not  a  word  being 
said  about  passports,  we  stepped  ashore  in  republican  Norway, 
and  were  piloted  by  a  fellow-passenger  to  the  Victoria  Hotel, 
where  an  old  friend  awaited  me.  He  who  had  walked  with 
me  in  the  colonnades  of  Karnak,  among  the  sands  of  Kom- 
Oinbos,  and  under  the  palms  of  Philae,  was  there  to  resume 
our  old  companionship  on  the  bleak  fjelds  of  Norway  and  on 
the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Sea.  We  at  once  set  about  prepar- 
ing for  the  journey.  First,  to  the  banker's  who  supplied  me 
with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  small  money  for  the  post-sta 
(ions  on  the  road  to  Drontheim  ;  then,  to  a  seller  of  carrioles 
of  whom  we  procured  three,  at  $> 36  apiece,  to  be  resold  tc 
him  for  $24,  at  the  expiration  of  two  months ;  and  then  tc 
supply  ourselves  with  maps,  posting- bor  k,  hummer,  nailp 


RETURN    TO  THE  NORTH.— CHIUSTIAN1  ».  235 

rope,  gimlets,  and  other  necessary  helps  in  case  of  a  break- 
down. The  carriole  (carry-all,  lucus  a  non  lucendn,  be- 
cause it  only  carries  one)  is  the  national  Norwegian  vehicle, 
and  deserves  special  mention.  It  resembles  a  reindeer-pulk 
mounted  on  a  pair  of  wheels,  with  long,  flat,  flexible  asi, 
shafts,  and  no  springs.  The  seat,  much  like  the  stern  of  a 
canoe,  and  rather  narrow  for  a  traveller  of  large  basis,  slopes 
down  into  a  trough  for  the  feet,  with  a  dashboard  in  front. 
Youi  single  valise  is  strapped  on  a  flat  board  behind,  upon 
which  your  postillion  sits.  The  whole  machine  resemble? 
an  American  sulky  in  appearance,  except  that  it  is  spring- 
less,  and  nearly  the  whole  weight  is  forward  of  the  axle, 
We  also  purchased  simple  and  strong  harness,  which  easily 
accommodates  itself  to  any  horse. 

Christiania  furnishes  a  remarkable  example  of  the  pro- 
gress which  Norway  has  made  since  its  union  with  Sweden 
and  the  adoption  of  a  free  Constitution.  In  its  signs  of 
growth  and  improvement,  the  city  reminds  one  of  an  Amer- 
ican town.  Its  population  has  risen  to  40,000,  and  though 
inferior  to  Gottenburg  in  its  commerce,  it  is  only  surpassed 
by  Stockholm  in  size.  The  old  log  houses  of  which  it  once 
was  built  have  almost  entirely  disappeared ;  the  streets  arc 
broad,  tolerably  paved,  and  have — what  Stockholm  cannot 
yet  boast  of — decent  side-walks.  From  the  little  nucleus  o 
the  old  town,  near  the  water,  branch  off  handsome  new  streets, 
where  you  often  come  suddenly  from  stately  three-story 
blocks  upon  the  rough  rock  and  meadow  land.  The  broad 
Carl- John n sgade,  leading  directly  to  the  imposing  white 
front  of  the  Royal  Palace,  upon  an  eminence  in  the  rear  ol 
the  city,  is  worthy  of  any  European  capital.  On  the  old 


£40  NOUT1IHKX  TRAVEL. 

market  square  a  very  handsome  market  hall  of  brick,  u 
Bern i-Byzan tine  style,  has  recently  been  erected,  and  the 
only  apparent  point  in  which  Christiania  has  not  kept  up 
with  the  times,  is  the  want  of  piers  for  her  shipping.  A 
railroad,  about  forty  miles  in  length,  is  already  in  operation 
as  far  as  Eidsvold,  at  the  foot  of  the  long  Miosen  Lake,  OD 
which  steamers  ply  to  Lillehammer,  at  its  head,  affording 
an  outlet  for  the  produce  of  the  fertile  Guldbrandsdal  and 
the  adjacent  country.  The  Norwegian  Constitution  is  ip 
almost  all  respects  as  free  as  that  of  any  American  state,  and 
it  is  cheering  to  see  what  material  well-being  and  solid  pro- 
gress have  followed  its  adoption. 

The  environs  of  Christiania  are  remarkably  beautiful. 
Prom  the  quiet  basin  of  the  fjord,  which  vanishes  between 
blue,  interlocking  islands  to  the  southward,  the  knd  rises 
gradually  on  all  sides,  speckled  with  smiling  country-seats 
and  farm-houses,  which  trench  less  and  less  on  the  dark 
evergreen  forests  as  they  recede,  until  the  latter  keep  their 
old  dominion  and  sweep  in  unbroken  lines  to  the  summits 
of  the  mountains  on  either  hand.  The  ancient  citadel  of 
Aggershus,  perched  upon  a  rock,  commands  the  approach  to 
the  city,  fine  old  linden  trees  rising  above  its  white  walls 
and  tiled  roofs;  beyond,  over  the  trees  of  the  palace  park, 
in  which  stand  the  new  Museum  and  University,  towers  the 
long  palace-front,  behind  which  commences  a  range  of  villas 
and  gardens,  stretching  westward  around  a  deep  bight  of  th 
fjord,  until  they  reach  the  new  palace  of  Oscar-hall,  on 
peninsula  facing  the  city.  As  we  floated  over  the  glassy 
water,  in  a  skiff,  on  the  ;ifternoon  following  our  arrival, 
watching  the  scattered  sun-gleams  move  across  the  lovelj 


RETURN   T--   THE   NOKTH. — CHKlSTlAXlA.  241 

panorama,  we  found  it  difficult  to  believe  that  we  were  in 
the  latitude  of  Greenland.  The  dark,  rich  green  of  the  fo- 
liage, the  balmy  odours  which  filled  the  air,  the  deep  UUP 
of  the  distant  hills  and  islands,  and  the  soft,  warm  colors 
of  the  houses,  all  belonged  to  the  south.  Only  the  air,  fresh 
without  being  cold,  elastic,  and  exciting,  not  a  delicious 
opiate,  was  wholly  northern,  and  when  I  took  a  swim  under 
the  castle  walls,  I  found  that  the  water  was  northern  too.  It 
was  the  height  of  summer,  and  the  showers  of  roses  in 
the  gardens,  the  strawberries  and  cherries  in  the  market, 
show  that  the  summer's  best  gifts  are  still  enjoyed  here. 

The  English  were  off  the  next  day  with  their  dogs,  guns, 
fishing  tackle,  waterproofs,  clay  pipes,  and  native  language, 
except  one,  who  became  home-sick  and  went  back  in  the 
next  steamer;  We  also  prepared  to  set  out  for  Ringerike, 
the  ancient  dominion  of  King  Ring,  on  our  way  to  the 
Dovre-fjeld  and  Drontheim. 


NORTHERN  TRAVE1 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

INCIDENTS    OP   CARRIOLE    TRAVEL. 

IT  is  rather  singular  that  whenever  you  are  about  to  start 
upon  a  new  journey,  you  almost  always  fall  in  with  some 
one  who  has  just  made  it,  and  who  overwhelms  you  with  all 
sorts  of  warning  and  advice.  This- has  happened  to  me  so 
frequently  that  I  have  long  ago  ceased  to  regard  any  such 
communications,  unless  the  individual  from  whom  they  come 
inspires  me  with  more  than  usual  confidence.  *While  in- 
specting our  carrioles  at  the  hotel  in  Christiania,  I  was  ac- 
costed by  a  Hamburg  merchant,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
Droutheim,  by  way  of  the  Dovre  Fjeld  and  the  MiSsen 
Lake.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  "  those  things  won't  last  long.  That 
oil-cloth  covering  for  your  luggage  will  be  torn  to  pieces  in 
a  few  days  by  the  postillions  climbing  upon  it.  Then  they 
hold  on  to  your  seat  and  rip  the  cloth  lining  with  their  long 
nails;  besides,  the'rope  reins  wear  the  leather  off  your  dash 
board,  and  you  will  be  lucky  if  your  wheels  and  axles  don't 
snap  on  the  rough  roads."  Now,  here  was  a  man  who  had 
travelled  much  in  Norway,  spoke  the  language  perfectly,  and 
might  be  supposed  to  know  something ;  but  his  face  betray 
ed  thn  croaker,  and  T  knew,  moreover,  that  of  all  fretfully 


INCIDENTS    OF    CAUH1OLE    TRAVEL.       .  243 

luxurious  men.  merchants — and  especially  Xoith-German 
merchants — are  the  worst,  ?<>  1  let  him  talk  and  kept  my 
own  private  opinion  unchanged. 

At  dinner  he  renewed  the  warnings.  ".You  will  have 
great  delay  in  getting  horses  at  the  stations.  The  <  »nly  way 
is  to  be  rough  and  swaggering,  and  threaten  the  people — 
and  even  that  won't  always  answer."  Most  likely,  I  thought. 
— "  Of  course  you  have  a  supply  of  provisions  with  you  ?' 
he  continued.  "  No,"  said  I,  "  I  always  adopt  the  diet  of  the 
country  in  which  I  travel." — "  But  you  can't  do  it  here  !' 
he  exclaimed  in  horror, "  you  can't  do  it  here !  They  have 
no  wine,  nor  no  white  bread,  nor  no  fresh  meat;  and  they 
don't  know  how  to  cook  anything !"  "  I  am  perfectly  aware 
of  that,"  I  answered;  "but  as  long  as  I  am  not  obliged  to 
come  down  to  bread  made  of  fir-bark  and  barley-straw,  as 
last  winter  in  Lapland,  I  shall  not  complain." — 'k  You  pos- 
sess the  courage  of  a  hero  if  you  can  do  such  a  thing ;  but 
you  will  not  start  now,  in  this  rain  I"  We  answered  by 
bidding  him  a  polite  adieu,  for  the  post-horses  had  come, 
and  our  carrioles  were  at  the  door.  As  if  to  reward  out 
resolution,  the  rain,  which  had  been  falling  heavily  all  the 
morning,  ceased  at  that  moment,  and  the  grey  blanket 
of  heaven  broke  and  rolled  up  into  loose  masses  of  cloud. 

I  mounted  into  the  canoe-shaped  seat,  drew  the  leathern 
apron  over  my  legs,  and  we  set  out,  in  single  tile,  through 
the  streets  of  Christiania.  The  carriole,  as  I  have  already 
said,  has  usually  no  springs  (ours  had  none  at  least),  except 
those  whicli  it  makes  in  bounding  over  the  stones.  We  had 
not  gone  a  hundred  yards  before  I  was  ready  to  cry  out — 
"Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me  !"  Such  a  shattering  of  the 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 


joints,  such  a  vibration  of  the  vertebrae,  such  a  churning  of 
the  viscera,  I  had  not  felt  since  travelling  by  banghy-cart  ID 
India.  Breathing  went  on  by  fits  and  starts,  between  the 
iolts  ;  ray  teeth  struck  together  so  that  I  put  away  my  pipe, 
iest  1  should  bite  off  the  stem,  and  the  pleasant  sensation  rf 
having  been  pounded  in  every  limb  crept  on  apace.  Once 
off  the  paving-stones,  it  was  a  little  better  ;  beyond  the  hard 
turnpike  which  followed,  better  still  ;  and  on  the  gravel  and 
sand  of  the  first  broad  hill,  we  found  the  travel  easy  enough 
to  allay  our  fears.  The  two  skydsbonder,  or  postillions, 
who  accompanied  us,  sat  upon  our  portmanteaus,  and  were 
continually  jumping  off  to  lighten  the  ascent  of  the  hills. 
The  descents  were  achieved  at  full  trotting  speed,  the  horses 
leaning  back,  supporting  themselves  against  the  weight  of 
the  carrioles,  and  throwing  out  their  feet  very  firmly,  so  as 
to  avoid  the  danger  of  slipping.  Thus,  no  matter  how  steep 
the  hill,  they  took  it  with  perfect  assurance  and  boldness. 
never  making  a  stumble.  There  was  just  sufficient  risk  left, 
however,  to  make  these  flying  descents  pleasant  and  exhilar- 
ating. 

Our  road  led  westward,  over  high  hills  and  across  deep 
valleys,  down  which  we  had  occasional  glimpses  of  the  blue 
fjord  and  its  rocky  islands.  The  grass  and  grain  were  a 
rich,  dark  green,  sweeping  into  a  velvety  blue  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  against  this  deep  ground,  the  bright  red  of  the 
houses  showed  with  strong  effect  —  a  contrast  which  was  sub- 
lued  and  harmonised  by  the  still  darker  masses  of  the  ever- 
green forests,  covering  the  mountain  ranges.  At  the  endol 
twelve  or  thirteen  miles  we  reached  the  first  post-stati6n,  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains  which  bound  the  inland  prospecl 


INCIDENTS  OF  CARRIOLE   TRA, EL  24fi 

from  Christiania  on  the  west.  As  it  was  not  a  ''fast  sta. 
tion,  we  were  subject  to  the  possibility  of  waiting  trfo  or 
three  hours  for  horses,  but  fortunately  were  accosted  on  the 
road  by  one  of  the  farmers  who  supply  the  skyds,  and 
changed  at  his  house.  The  Norwegian  skyds  differs  from 
the  Swedish  skjuts  in  having  horses  ready  only  at  the  fast 
stations,  which  are  comparatively  few,  while  at  all  others 
you  must  wait  from  one  to  three  hours,  according  to  the  dis- 
tance from  which  the  horses  must  be  "brought.  In  Sweden 
there  are  always  from  two  to  four  horses  ready,  and  you  are 
only  obliged  to  wait  after  these  are  exhausted.  There,  alsOj 
the  regulations  are  better,  and  likewise  more  strictly  en- 
forced. It  is,  at  best,  an  awkward  mode  of  travelling — 
very  pleasant,  when  everything  goes  rightly,  but  very  an- 
noying when  otherwise. 

We  now  commenced  climbing  the  mountain  by  a  series  of 
terribly  steep  ascents,  every  opening  in  the  woods  disclosing 
a  wider  and  grander  view  backward  over  the  lovely  Chris- 
tiania  Fjord  and  the  intermediate  valleys.  Beyond  the 
crest  we  came  upon  a  wild  mountain  plateau,  a  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  entirely  covered  with  forests  of  spruce 
and  fir.  It  was  a  black  and  dismal  region,  under  the  low- 
ering sky :  not  a  house  or  a  grain  field  to  be  seen,  and  thus 
*e  drove  for  more  than  two  hours,  to  the  solitary  inn  of 
Krogkleven,  where  we  stopped  for  the  night  in  order  to  visit 
the  celebrated  King's  View  in  the  morning.  We  got  a  tol- 
erable supper  and  good  beds,  sent  off  a  messenger  to  the 
station  of  Sundvolden,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  to  order 
horses  for  us,  and  set  out  soon  after  sunrise,  piloted  by  th« 
landlord's  son,  Olaf.  Half  an  hour's  walk  through  the  for- 


246  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

est  brought  us  to  a  pile  of  rocks  on  the  crest  si  the  moun 
tain,  which  fell  away  abruptly  to  the  westward.  At  our 
feet  lay  the  Tyri  Fjord,  with  its  deeply  indented  shores  and 
its  irregular,  scattered  islands,  shining  blue  and  bright  in 
the  morning  sun,  while  away  beyond  it  stretched  a  grea 
semicircle  of  rolling  hills  covered  with  green  farms,  dotted 
with  red  farm-houses,  and  here  and  there  a  white  church 
glimmering  like  a  spangle  on  the  breast  of  the  landscape. 
Behind  this  soft,  warm,  beautiful  region,  rose  dark,  wooded 
hills,  with  lofty  mountain-ridges  above  them,  until,  far  and 
faint,  under  and  among  the  clouds,  streaks  of  snow  betrayed 
some  peaks  of  the  Nore  Fjeld,  sixty  or  seventy  miles  dis- 
tant. This  is  one  of  the  most  famous  views  in  Norway, 
and  has  been  compared  to  that  from  the  Righi,  but  without 
sufficient  reason.  The  sudden  change,  however,  from  the 
gloomy  wilderness  through  which  you  first  pass  to  the  sunlit 
picture  of  the  enchanting  lake,  and  green,  inhabited  hills  and 
valleys,  may  well  excuse  the  raptures  of  travellers.  Ringer- 
ike,  the  realm  of  King  Ring,  is  a  lovely  land,  not  only  as 
Been  from  this  eagle's  nest,  but  when  you  have  descended 
upon  its  level.  I  believe  the  monarch's  real  name  was 
Halfdan  the  Black.  So  beloved  was  he  in  life  that  after 
death  his  body  was  divided  into  four  portions,  so  that  each 
province  might  possess  some  part  of  him.  Yet  the  noblest 
fume  is  transitory,  and  nobody  now  knows  exactly  where 
my  one  of  his  quarters  was  buried. 

A  terrible  descent,  through  a  chasm  between  perpendicular 
cliffs  some  hundreds  of  feet  in  height,  leads  from  Krogkleven 
to  the  level  of  the  Tyri  Fjord.  There  is  no  attempt  here, 
nor  indeed  upon  the  most  of  the  Norwegian  roads  we  trav 


INCIDENTS    OK    CARRIOLE     FRAVKL.  5^47 

elled,  to  mitigate,  by  well-arranged  curves,  the  steepness  ol 
the  hills.  Straight  down  you  go,  no  matter  of  how  break- 
neck a  character  the  declivity  may  be.  There  are  no  drags 
to  the  carrioles  and  country  carts,  and  were  not  the  nativi 
horses  the  toughest  and  surest-footed  little  animals  in  th 
world,  this  sort  of  travel  would  be  trying  to  the  nerves. 

Our  ride  along  the  banks  of  the  Tyri  Fjord,  in  the  clear 
morning  sunshine,  was  charming.  The  scenery  was  strik- 
ingly like  that  on  the  lake  of  Zug,  in  Switzerland,  and  we 
missed  the  only  green  turf,  which  this  year's  rainless  spring 
had  left  brown  and  withered.  In  all  S\veden  we  had  seen 
no  such  landscapes,  not  even  in  Norrland.  There,  however, 
the  people  carried  off  the  palm.  We  found  no  farm-houses 
here  so  stately  and  clean  as  the  Swedish,  no  such  symmet- 
rical forms  and  frank,  friendly  faces.  The  Norwegians  are 
big  enough,  and  strong  enough,  to  be  sure,  but  their  car- 
riage is  awkward,  and  their  faces  not  only  plain  but  ugly. 
The  countrywomen  we  saw  were  remarkable  in  this  latter 
respect,  but  nothing  could  exceed  their  development  of  waist, 
bosom  and  arms.  Here  is  the  stuff  of  which  Vikings  were 
made,  I  thought,  but  there  has  been  no  refining  or  ennobling 
since  those  times.  These  are  the  rough  primitive  formations 
of  the  human  race — the  bare  granite  and  gneiss,  from  which 
sprouts  no  luxuriant  foliage,  but  at  best  a  few  simple  and 
hardy  flowers.  I  found  much  less  difficulty  in  communicat 
ing  with  the  Norwegians  than  1  anticipated.  The  languag 
is  so  similar  to  the  Swedish  that  I  used  the  latter,  with  a 
few  alterations,  and  easily  made  myself  understood.  Thfl 
Norwegian  dialect,  I  imagine,  stands  in  about  the  same  re 
lation  to  pure  Danish  as  the  Scotch  does  to  the  English 


5>48  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

To  my  ear,  it  is  less  musical  and  sonorous  than  the  Swedish 
though  it  is  often  accented  in  the  same  peculiar  sing-song 
way. 

Leaving  the  Tyri  Fjord,  we  entered  a  rolling,  well-culti- 
vated country,  with  some  pleasant  meadow  scenery.  The 
crops  did  not  appear  to  be  thriving  remarkably,  probably 
on  account  of  the  dry  weather.  The  hay  crop,  which  the 
farmers  were  just  cutting,  was  very  scanty ;  rye  and  winter 
barley  were  coming  into  head,  but  the  ears  were  thin  and 
light,  while  spring  barley  and  oats  were  not  more  than  six 
inches  in  height.  There  were  many  fields  of  potatoes,  how- 
ever, which  gave  a  better  promise.  So  far  as  one  could 
judge  from  looking  over  the  fields,  Norwegian  husbandry  is 
yet  in  a  very  imperfect  state,  and  I  suspect  that  the  resour- 
ses  of  the  soil  are  not  half  developed.  The  whole  country 
was  radient  with  flowers,  and  some  fields  were  literally 
mosaics  of  blue,  purple,  pink,  yellow,  and  crimson  bloom. 
Clumps  of  wild  roses- fringed  the  road,  and  the  air  was  de- 
licious with  a  thousand  odours.  Nature  was  throbbing 
with  the  fullness  of  her  short  midsummer  life,  with  that 
sudden  and  splendid  rebound  from  the  long  trance  of  winter 
which  she  nowhere  makes  except  in  the  extreme  north. 

At  KlSkken,  which  is  called  a  lilsigelse  station,  where 
horses  must  be  specially  engaged,  we  were  obliged  to  wait 
two  hours  and  a  half,  while  they  were  sent  for  from  a  dis- 
tance of  four  miles.  The  utter  coolness  and  indifference  ol 
the  people  to  our  desire  to  get  on  faster  was  quite  natural, 
and  all  the  better  for  them,  no  doubt,  but  it  was  provoking 
to  us.  We  whiled  away  a  part  of  the  time  with  breakfast 
which  wa*  composed  mainly  of  boiled  eggs  and  an  immense 


INCIDENTS  OF   CARRIOLE  TRATEL.  249 


dish  uf  wild  strawberries,  of  very  small  size  but  e 
fragrant  flavour.  The  next  station  brought  (*s  to  Vaa- 
bunden,  at  the  head  of  the  beautiful  Randsfjord,  which  was 
luckily  a  fast  station,  and  the  fresh  horses  were  forthcoming 
n  two  minutes.  Our  road  all  the  afternoon  lay  along  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Fjord,  coursing  up  and  down  the  hills 
through  a  succession  of  the  loveliest  landscape  pictures. 
This  part  of  Norway  will  bear  a  comparison  with  the  softer 
parts  of  Switzerland,  such  as  the  lakes  of  Zurich  and  Thun. 
The  hilly  shores  of  the  Fjord  were  covered  with  scattered 
farms,  the  villages  being  merely  churches  with  half  a  dozen 
houses  clustered  about  them. 

At  sunset  we  left  the  lake  and  climbed  a  long  wooded 
mountain  to  a  height  of  more  than  two  thousand  feet.  It 
was  n  weary  pull  until  we  reached  the  summit,  but  we  rolled 
swiftly  down  the  other  side  to  the  inn  of  Teterud,  our  des- 
tination, which  we  reached  about  10  P.M.  It  was  quite  light 
enough  to  read,  yet  every  one  was  in  bed,  and  the  place 
seemed  deserted,  until  we  remembered  what  latitude  we  were 
in.  Finally,  the  landlord  appeared,  followed  by  a  girl,  whom, 
on  account  of  her  size  and  blubber,  Braisted  compared  to  a 
cow-  whale.  She  had  been  turned  out  of  her  bed  to  make 
room  fur  us,  and  we  two  instantly  rolled  into  the  warm 
hollow  she  had  left,  my  Nilotic  friend  occupying  a  separate 
bed  in  another  corner.  The  guests'  room  was  an  immense 
apartment  ;  eight  sets  of  quadrilles  might  have  been  danced 
in  it  at  one  time.  The  walls  were  hung  with  extraordinary 
pictures  of  the  Six  Days  of  Creation,  in  which  the  Almighty 
was  represented  as  an  old  man  dressed  in  a  long  gown,  with 
i  peculiarly  good-humoured  leer  suggesting  a  wink,  on  hi« 


250  NORTHERN    I'RAVia 

face.  I  have  frequently  seen  the  same  series  of  pictures  in 
the  Swedish  inns.  In  the  morning  I  was  aroused  by  Brai- 
Bted  exclaiming,  "  There  she  blows !''  and  the  whale  came  up 
to  the  surface  with  a  huge  pot  of  coffee,  some  sugar  candy, 
excellent  cream,  and  musty  biscuit. 

It  was  raining  when  we  started,  and  I  put  on  a  light  coat, 
purchased  in  London,  and  recommended  in  the  advertisement 
as  being  "  light  in  texture,  gentlemanly  in  appearance,  and 
impervious  to  wet,"  with  strong  doubts  of  its  power  to  resist 
a  Norwegian  rain.  Fortunately,  it  was  not  put  to  a  severe 
test,  we  had  passing  showers  only,  heavy,  though  short. 
The  country,  between  the  Randsfjord  and  the  Miosen  Lake 
was  open  and  rolling,  everywhere  under  cultivation,  and  ap- 
parently rich  and  prosperous.  Our  road  was  admirable,  and 
we  rolled  along  at  the  rate  of  one  Norsk  mile  (seven  miles) 
an  hour,  through  a  land  in  full  blossom,  and  an  atmosphere 
of  vernal  odors.  At  the  end  of  the  second  station  we  struck 
the  main  road  from  Christiania  to  Drontheim.  In  the  sta- 
tion-house I  found  translations  of  the  works  of  Dickens  and 
Captain  Chamier  on  the  table.  The  landlord  was  the  most 
polite  and  attentive  Norwegian  we  had  seen ;  but  he  made  us 
pay  for  it,  charging  one  and  a  half  marks  apiece  for  a  break- 
fast of  boiled  eggs  and  cheese. 

Starting  again  in  a  heavy  shower,  we  crossed  the  crest  ol 
a  hill,  and  saw  all  at  once  the  splendid  Midsen  Lake  spread 
out  before  us,  the  lofty  Island  of  Helge,  covered  with  farms 
and  forests,  lying  in  the  centre  of  the  ojcture.  Our  road 
went  northward  along  the  side  of  the  vast,  sweeping  slope  oi 
farm-land  which  bounds-  the  lake  on  the  west.  Its  rouirh 
and  muddy  condition  showed  how  little  land-travel  there  if 


INCIDENTS   OF   CARRIOLE   TRAVEL.  25J 

at  present,  since  the  establishment  of  a  daily  line  of  steamer? 
on  the  lake.  At  the  station  of  Gjovik,  a  glass  furnace 
situated  in  a  wooded  little  dell  on  the  shore,  I  found  a  young 
Norwegian  who  spoke  tolerable  English,  and  who  seemed 
astounded  at  our  not  taking  the  steamer  in  preference  to  OUT 
carrioles.  He  hardly  thought  it  possible  that  we  could  be 
poing  all  the  way  to  Lillehammer,  at  the  head  of  the  lake, 
oy  the  land  road.  When  we  set  out,  our  postillion  took  a 
way  leading  up  the  hills  in  the  rear  of  the  place.  Knowing 
that  our  course  was  along  the  shore,  we  asked  him  if  we 
were  on  the  road  to  Sveen,  the  next  station.  "  Oh,  yes ;  it's 
all  right,"  said  he,  "  this  is  a  new  road."  It  was.  in  truth,  a 
superb  highway ;  broad  and  perfectly  macadamised,  and 
leading  along  the  brink  of  a  deep  rocky  chasm,  down  which 
thundered  a  powerful  stream.  From  the  top  of  this  glen  we 
struck  inland,  keeping  more  and  more  to  the  westward. 
Again  we  asked  the  postillion,  and  again  received  the  same 
answer.  Finally,  when  we  had  travelled  six  or  seven  miles, 
and  the  lake  had  wholly  disappeared,  I  stopped  and  de- 
manded where  Sveen  was.  '•  Sveen  is  not  on  this  road,''  he 
answered ;  "  we  are  going  to  Mustad  !"  "  But,"  I  exclaimed, 
'  we  are  bound  for  Sveen  and  Lillehammer !"  "  Oh,v  said 
ho,  with  infuriating  coolness,  "you  can  go  there  after' 
wards  /"  You  may  judge  that  the  carrioles  were  whirled 
•iround  in  a  hurry,  and  that  the  only  answer  to  the  fellow's 
remonstrances  was  a  shaking  by  the  neck  which  frightened 
him  into  silence. 

We  drove  back  to  Gj6vik  in  a  drenching  shower,  which 
failed  to  c«ol  our  anger.  On  reaching  the  station  I  at  once 
made  a  complaint  against  the  postillion,  and  the  landlord 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL 


called  a  man  who  spoke  good  English,  to  settle  the  inattei 
The  latter  brought  me  a  bill  of  $2  for  going  to  Mustad  and 
back.  Knowing  that  the  horses  belonged  to  farmers,  whc 
were  not  to  blame  in  the  least,  we  had  agreed  to  pay  for 
their  use  ;  but  I  remonstrated  against  paying  the  full  price 
when  we  had  not  gone  the  whole  distance,  and  had  not  in 
tended  to  go  at  all.  "  Why,  then,  did  yju  order  horses  foi 
Mustad?"  he  asked.  "  I  did  no  such  thing!''  I  exclaimed, 
in  amazement.  "  You  did  !"  he  persisted,  and  an  investiga- 
tion ensued,  which  resulted  in  the  discovery  that  the  Nor- 
wegian who  had  advised  us  to  go  by  steamer,  had  gratui- 
tously taken  upon  himself  to  tell  the  landlord  to  send  Q3 
to  the  Randsfjord,  and  had  given  the  postillion  similar 
lirections  !  The  latter,  imagining,  perhaps,  that  we  didn't 
actually  know  our  own  plans,  had  followed  his  instructions. 
I  must  say  that  I  never  before  received  such  an  astonishing 
mark  of  kindness.  The  ill-concealed  satisfaction  of  the 
people  at  our  mishap  made  it  all  the  more  exasperating. 
The  end  of  it  was  that  two  or  three  marks  were  taken  ofl 
the  account,  nhich  we  then  paid,  and  in  an  hour  afterwards 
phipped  oui»elves  and  carrioles  on  board  a  steamer  for 
Lillehampiw.  The  Norwegian  who  had  caused  all  this 
trouble  came  along  just  before  we  embarked,  and  heard  the 
story  with  the  most  sublime  indifference,  proffering  not  a 
word  of  apology,  regret,  or  explanation.  Judging  from  this 
specimen,  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway  has  good  reason 
to  style  himself  King  of  the  Goths  and  Vandals. 

I  was  glad,  nevertheless,  that  we  had  an  opportunity  oi 
seeing  the  Miosen,  from  the  deck  of  a  steamer.  Moving 
over  the  £'assy  pale-green  water,  midway  between  its  shores 


IM.'IUENTS   OP   CARRIOLE  TRAVEL.  253 

we  had  a  far  better  exhibition  of  its  beauties  than  from  the 
land-road.  It  is  a  superb  piece  of  water,  sixty  miles  in 
length  by  from  two  to  five  in  breadth,  with  mountain  shores 
of  picturesque  and  ever-varying  outline.  The  lower  slopes 
re  farm  land,  dotted  with  the  large  g-aards,  or  mansions 
of  the  farmers,  many  of  which  have  a  truly  stately  air  ;  be- 
yond them  are  forests  of  fir,  spruce,  and  larch,  while  in  the 
glens  between,  winding  groves  of  birch,  alder,  and  ash  come 
down  to  fringe  the  banks  of  the  lake.  Wandering  gleams 
of  sunshine,  falling  through  the  broken  clouds,  touched  here 
and  there  the  shadowed  slopes  and  threw  belts  of  light  upon 
the  water — and  these  illuminated  spots  finely  relieved  the 
otherwise  sombre  depth  of  colour.  Our  boat  was  slow,  and 
we  had  between  two  and  three  hours  of  unsurpassed  scenery 
before  reaching  our  destination.  An  immense  raft  of  timber 
gathered  from  the  loose  logs  which  are  floated  down  the 
Lougen  Elv,  lay  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  which  contracts 
into  the  famous  Guldbrandsdal.  On  the  brow  of  a  steep 
hill  on  the  right  lay  the  little  town  of  Lillehammer,  wher*1 
we  were  ere  long  quartered  in  a  very  comfortable  hotel. 
12 


254  NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

GULDBRAXDSDAL     AND     THE     DOVRE     FJELD. 

We  left  Lillehammer  <>n  a  heavenly  Sabbath  morning. 
Then*  was  scarcely  a  cloud  in  thr  sky,  the  air  wa<  warm 
and  balmy,  and  the  verdure  of  the  valley,  freshened  by  the 
previous  day's  rain,  sparkled  and  glittered  in  the  sun.  The 
Miflsen  Lake  lay  blue  and  still  to  the  south,  and  the  bald 
tops  of  the  mountains  which  inclose  Guldbrandsdal  stood 
sharp  and  clear,  and  almost  shade wless,  in  the  flood  of  light 
which  streamed  up  the  valley.  Of  Lillehammer,  I  can  only 
say  that  it  is  a  common-place  town  of  about  a  thousand  in- 
habitants. It  had  a  cathedral  and  bishop  some  six  hundred 
years  ago,  no  traces  of  either  of  which  now  remain.  We 
drove  out  of  it  upon  a  splendid  new  road,  leading  up  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  river,  and  just  high  enough  on  the 
mountain  side  to  give  the  loveliest  views  either  way.  Our 
horses  were  fast  and  spirited,  and  the  motion  of  our  carrioles 
over  the  firmly  macadamised  road  was  just  sufficient  to  keep 
the  blood  in  nimble  circulation.  Rigid  Sabbatarians  may 
be  shocked  at  our  travelling  on  that  day ;  but  there  were 
few  hearts  in  all  the  churches  of  Christendom  whose  hymns 
of  praise  were  more  sincere  and  devout  than  ours.  TV 


<;i  I.miK  \M>SI»\I.    AM)   Till-.    DOVRE   FJELD  255 

Longtn  roared  an  anthem  fur  us  from  his  rocky  oed:  the 
mountain  streams,  Hashing  down  their  hollow  channels; 
seemed  hastening  to  join  it;  the  mountains  themselves 
stood  silent,  with  uncovered  heads ;  and  over  all  the  pale- 
blue  northern  heaven  looked  lovingly  and  gladly  down— 
i  smile  of  God  upon  the  grateful  earth.  There  is  no  Sab- 
bath worship  better  than  the  simple  enjoyment  of  such  a 
day. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  stage,  our  road  descended  to  the 
banks  of  the  Lougen,  which  here  falls  in  a  violent  rapid — 
almost  a  cataract — over  a  barrier  of  rocks.  Masses  of  wa- 
ter, broken  or  wrenched  from  the  body  of  the  river,  are 
hurled  intermittently  high  into  the  air,  scattering  as  they 
fall,  with  fragments  of  rainbows  dancing  over  them.  In 
this  scene  I  at  once  recognised  the  wild  landscape  by  the 
pencil  of  Dahl,  the  Norwegian  painter,  which  had  made 
such  an  impression  upon  me  in  Copenhagen.  In  Guld- 
brandsdal,  we  found  at  once  what  we  had  missed  in  the 
Bcenery  of  Ringerike — swift,  foaming  streams.  Here  they 
leapt  from  every  rift  of  the  upper  crags,  brightening  the 
gloom  of  the  fir-woods  which  clothed  the  mountain-sides, 
like  silver  braiding  upon  a  funeral  garment.  This  valley 
is  the  pride  of  Norway,  nearly  as  much  for  its  richness  as 
for  it.-  beauty  ami  •rraiuleur.  The  houses  were  larger  and 
more  substantial,  the  Ik-Ids  bloominir,  with  frequent  orch- 
ards of  fruit-trees,  and  the  fanners,  in  their  Sunday  attire, 
.-howi'd  in  their  faces  a  little  mure  intelligence  than  the  peo- 
ple we  had  seen  on  our  way  thither.  Their  countenances 
had  a  plain,  homely  stamp;  and  of  all  the  large-limbed, 
strong-backed  forms  I  saw,  not  one  could  be  called  graceful, 


256  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

or  even  symmetrical.  Something  awkward  and  uncoi.tl 
stamps  the  country  people  of  Norway.  Honest  and  simple- 
minded  they  are  said  to  be,  and  probably  are ;  but  of  native 
refinement  of  feeling  they  can  have  little,  unless  all  outward 
?igns  of  character  are  false. 

We  changed  horses  at  Moshuus,  and  drove  up  a  leveJ 
splendid  road  to  Holmen,  along  the  river- bank.  The  high- 
way, thus  far,  is  entirely  new,  and  does  great  credit  to  Nor- 
wegian enterprise.  There  is  not  a  better  road  in  all  Europe ; 
and  when  it  shall  be  carried  through  to  Drontheim,  the  ter- 
rors which  this  trip  has  for  timid  travellers  will  entirely  dis- 
appear. It  is  a  pity  that  the  skyds  system  should  not  be 
improved  in  equal  ratio,  instead  of  becoming  even  more  in- 
convenient than  at  present.  Holmen,  hitherto  a  fast  sta- 
tion, is  now  no  longer  so ;  and  the  same  retrograde  change 
is  going  on  at  other  places  along  the  road.  The  waiting 
at  the  tilsigelse  stations  is  the  great  drawback  to  travelling 
by  skyds  in  Norway.  You  must  either  wait  two  hours  or 
pay  fast  prices,  which  the  people  are  not  legally  entitled  to 
ask.  Travellers  may  write  complaints  in  the  space  allotted 
in  the  post-books  for  such  things,  but  with  very  little  result, 
if  one  may  judge  from  the  perfect  indifference  which  the  sta- 
tion-masters exhibit  when  you  threaten  to  do  so.  I  was 
more  than  once  tauntingly  asked  whether  I  would  not  write 
a  complaint.  In  Sweden,  I  found  but  one  instance  of  inat- 
tention at  the  stations,  during  two  months'  travel,  and  ex- 
pected, from  the  boasted  honesty  of  the  Norwegians,  to  meet 
with  an  equally  fortunate  experience.  Travellers,  however, 
and  especially  Rnglish,  are  fast  teaching  the  people  the  usual 
arts  of  imposition.  ( )h,  you  hard-shelled,  unplastic,  insu 


GULDBRANDSDAL   AND   THE   DOVRE   FJELD.  25? 

lated  Englishmen  !  You  introduce  towels  and  fresh  water 
and  tea,  and  beef-steak,  wherever  you  go,  it  is  true  but  yob 
teach  high  prices,  and  swindling,  and  insolence  likewise! 

A  short  distance  beyond  Holmen,  Ihenew  road  terminated, 
and  we  took  the  old  track  over  steep  spurs  of  the  mountain, 
rising  merely  to  descend  and  rise  again.  The  Lougen  River 
here  forms  a  broad,  tranquil  lake,  a  mile  in  width,  in  which 
the  opposite  mountains  were  splendidly  reflected.  The 
water  is  pale,  milky-green  colour,  which,  under  certain  ef- 
fccts  of  light,  has  a  wonderful  aerial  transparency.  As  we 
approached  Losnfts.  after  this  long  and  tedious  stage,  I  was 
startled  by  the  appearance  of  a  steamer  on  the  ri  ver.  It  is 
utterly  impossible  for  any  to  ascend  the  rapids  below  Mos- 
huus ;  and  she  must  therefore  have  been  built  there.  We 
could  discover  no  necessity  for  such  an  undertaking  in  the 
thin  scattered  population  and  their  slow,  indifferent  habits 
Her  sudden  apparition  in  such  a  place  was  like  that  of  an 
omnibus  in  the  desert. 

The  magnificent  vista  of  the  valley  was  for  a  time  closed 
by  the  snowy  peaks  of  the  Rundan  Fjeld  ;  but  as  the  direc- 
tion of  the  river  changed  they  disappeared,  the  valley  con- 
tracted, and  its  black  walls,  two  thousand  feet  high,  almost 
overhung  us.  Below,  however,  were  still  fresh  meadows, 
twinkling  birchen  groves  and  comfortable  farm-houses. 
Out  of  a  gorge  on  our  right,  plunged  a  cataract  from  a 
height  of  eighty  or  ninety  feet,  and  a  little  further  on,  high 
up  the  mountain,  a  gush  of  braided  silver  foam  burst  out  of 
the  dark  woods,  covered  with  ^learning  drapery  the  face  of  a 
huge  perpendicular  crag,  and  disappeared  in  the  woods  again 
My  friend  drew  up  his  horse  in  wonder  and  rapture.  u ) 


258  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

know  all  Switzerland  and  the  Tyrol,"  he  exclaimed,  '  out 
I  have  never  seen  a  cataract  so  wonderfully  framed  ir,  the 
setting  of  a  forest."  In  the  evening,  as  we  approached  our 
destination,  two  streams  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valleyj 
fell  from  a  height  of  more  than  a  thousand  feet,  in  a  series 
of  linked  plunges,  resembling  burnished  chains  hanging 
dangling  from  the  tremendous  parapet  of  rock.  On  the 
meadow  before  us,  commanding  a  full  view  of  this  wild  and 
glorious  scene,  stood  a  stately  gaard,  entirely  deserted,  its 
barns,  out-houses  and  gardens  utterly  empty  and  desolate. 
Its  aspect  saddened  the  whole  landscape. 

We  stopped  at  the  station  of  Lillehaave,  which  had  only 
been  established  the  day  before,  and  we  were  probably  the 
first  travellers  who  had  sojourned  there.  Consequently  the 
people  were  unspoiled,  and  it  was  quite  refreshing  to  be 
courteously  received,  furnished  with  a  trout  supper  and  ex- 
cellent beds,  and  to  pay  therefor  an  honest  price.  The 
morning  was  lowering,  and  we  had  rain  part  of  the  day ; 
but,  thanks  to  our  waterproofs  and  carriole  aprons,  we  kept 
comfortably  dry.  During  this  day's  journey  of  fifty  miles, 
we  had  very  grand  scenery,  the  mountains  gradually  in- 
creasing in  height  and  abruptness  as  we  ascended  the  Guld- 
brandsdal,  with  still  more  imposing  cataracts  "  blowing  their 
trumpets  from  the  steeps."  At  Viik,  I  found  a  complaint 
in  the  post-book,  written  by  an  Englishman  who  had  come 
w ith  us  from  Hull,  stating  that  the  landlord  had  made  him 
ay  five  dollars  for  beating  his  dog  off  his  own.  The  com- 
plaint was  written  in  English,  of  course,  and  therefore  use- 
less so  far  as  the  authorities  were  concerned.  The  landlord 
whom  I  expected,  from  this  account,  to  find  a  surly,  swind- 


GVLUIiRANLJSOAL    AND    THE    DOVRE    F.'ELD  259 

ling  fellow,  accosted  us  civilly,  and  invited  us  into  hia 
house  to  see  some  old  weapons,  principally  battle-axes.  There 
was  a  cross-bow,  a  battered,  antique  sword,  and  a  buff  coat, 
which  may  have  been  stripped  from  one  of  Sinclair's  men 
in  the  pass  of  Kringelen.  The  logs  of  his  house,  or  part 
of  them,  are  said  to  have  been  taken  from  the  dwelling  in 
which  the  saint-king  Olaf — the  apostle  of  Christianity  in 
the  North, — was  born.  They  are  of  the  rel  Norwegian 
pine,  which  has  a  great  durability  ;  and  the  legend  may  be 
true,  although  this  would  make  them  eight  hundred  and 
fifty  years  old. 

Colonel  Sinclair  was  buried  in  the  churchyard  at  Viik, 
and  about  fifteen  miles  further  we  passed  the  defile  of 
Kringelen,  where  his  band  was  cut  to  pieces.  He  landed  in 
Romdal's  Fjord,  on  the  western  coast,  with  900  men  intend- 
ing to  force  his  way  across  the  mountains  to  relieve  Stock- 
holm, which  was  then  (1612)  besieged  by  the  Danes.  Some 
three  hundred  of  the  peasants  collected  at  Kringelen. 
gathered  together  rocks  and  trunks  of  trees  on  the  brow  of 
the  cliff,  and.  at  a  concerted  signal,  rolled  the  mass  down 
upon  the  Scotch,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  crushed  to 
death  or  hurled  into  the  rivjer.  Of  the  whole  force  only  twc 
escaped.  A  wooden  tablet  on  the  spot  says,  as  near  as  1 
could  make  it  out,  that  there  was  never  such  an  example  ol 
courage  and  valour  known  in  the  world,  and  calls  upon  the 
people  to  admire  this  glorious  deed  of  their  fathers.  "Cou- 
M_re  and  valour;"  cried  Braisted,  indignantly;  "it  was  a 
owardly  butchery  !  If  they  had  so  much  courage,  why  did 
,hey  allow  900  Scotchmen  to  get  into  tT>e  very  heart  of  fhe 
Country  before  they  tried  to  stop  them  ?*  Well,  war  ia  full 


250  KORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

of  meanness  and  cowardice.     If  it  were  only  fair  fighting  on 
an  open  field,  there  would  be  less  of  it. 

Beyond  Laurgaard,  Guldbrandsdal  contracts  to  a  uarro* 
g)rge,  down  which  the  Lougen  roars  in  perpetual  foam. 
This  pass  is  called  the  Rusten ;  and  the  road  here  is  exces- 
sively steep  and  difficult.  The  forests  disappear ;  only 
hardy  firs  and  the  red  pine  cling  to  the  ledges  of  the  rocks  j 
and  mountains,  black,  grim,  and  with  snow-streaked  sum- 
mits, tower  grandly  on  all  sides.  A  broad  cataract,  a 
hundred  feet  high,  leaped  down  a  chasm  on  our  left,  so  near 
to  the  road  that  its  sprays  swept  over  us,  and  then  shot  un- 
der a  bridge  to  join  the  seething  flood  in  the  frightful  gulf 
beneath.  1  was  reminded  of  the  Valley  of  the  Reuss,  on  the 
road  to  St.  Gothard,  like  which,  the  pass  of  the  Rusten  leads 
to  a  cold  and  bleak  upper  valley.  Here  we  noticed  the 
blight  of  late  frost  on  the  barley  fields,  and  were  for  the  first 
time  assailed  by  beggars.  Black  storm-clouds  hung  over 
the  gorge,  adding  to  the  savage  wildness  of  its  scenery  ;  but 
the  sun  came  out  as  we  drove  up  the  Valley  of  Dovre,  with 
its  long  stretch  of  grain-fields  on  the  sunny  sweep  of  the 
hillside,  sheltered  by  the  lofty  Dovre  Fjeld  behind  them. 
We  stopped-  for  the  night  at  the  inn  of  Toftemoen,  long 
before  sunset,  although  it  was  eight  o'clock,  and  slept  in 
a  half-daylight  until  morning. 

The  sun  was  riding  high  in  the  heavens  when  we  left, 
and  dark  bwering  clouds  slowly  rolled  their  masses  across 
the  mountain-tops.  The  Lougen  was  now  an  inconsiderable 
erream.  and  the  superb  Guldbrandsdal  narrowed  to  a  bare, 
bleak  dell,  lik;  those  in  the  high  Alps.  The  grain-fields 
had  a  chilled,  struggling  appearance:  the  forests  forsook 


OULDBRAN  >SD.\L  AND  THE   DOVRE  FJELD.  261 

the  mountain-sides  and  throve  only  in  sheltered  spots  at 
their  b;tses  ;  the  houses  were  mere  log  cabins,  many  of  which 
were  slipping  off  their  foundation-posts  and  tottering  to 
their  final  fall ;  and  the  people,  poorer  than  ever,  came  out 
of  their  huts  to  beg  openly  and  shamelessly  as  we  passed 
Over  the  head  of  the  valley,  which  here  turns  westward  to 
the  low  water-shed  dividing  it  from  the  famous  Romsdal. 
rose  two  or  three  snow-streaked  peaks  of  the  Hurunger 
Fjeld ;  and  the  drifts  filling  the  ravines  of  the  mountains 
on  our  left  descended  lower  and  lower  into  the  valley. 

At  Dombaas,  a  lonely  station  at  the  foot  of  the  Dovre 
Fjeld,  we  turned  northward  into  the  heart  of  the  mountains. 
My  postillion,  a  boy  of  fifteen,  surprised  me  by  speaking 
very  good  English.  He  had  learned  it  in  the  school  at 
Drontheim.  Sometimes,  he  said,  they  had  a  schoolmaster 
in  the  house,  and  sometimes  one  at  Jerkin,  twenty  miles 
distant.  Our  load  ascended  gradually  through  half-cut 
woods  of  red  pine,  for  two  or  three  miles,  after  which  it 
entered  a  long  valley,  or  rather  basin,  belonging  to  the  table 
land  of  the  Dovre  Fjeld.  Stunted  heath  and  dwarfed  juni- 
per-bushes mixed  with  a  grey,  foxy  shrub-willow,  covered 
the  soil,  and  the  pale  yellow  of  the  reindeer  moss  stained 
the  rocks.  Higher  greyer  and  blacker  ridges  hemmed  in 
the  lifeless  landscape ;  and  above  them,  to  the  north  and 
west,  broad  snow-fields  shone  luminous  under  the  heavy  folds 
of  the  clouds.  We  passed  an  old  woman  with  bare  legs  and 
arms,  returning  from  a  sdter,  or  summer  chalet  of  the  shep 
herds.  She  was  a  powerful  but  purely  animal  specimen  of 
humanity, — "beef  to  the  heel,"  as  Braisted  said.  At  last  a 

cluster  of  log  huts,  wi*h  a  patch  of  irreea  pasture-ground 
12* 


262  SOUTHERN  TRAVEL. 

about  them,  broke  the  monotony  of  the  scene.  It  wcu§ 
Fogstuen,  or  next  station,  where  we  were  obliged  to  wait 
half  an  hour  until  the  horses  had  been  caught  and  brought 
in.  The  place  had  a  poverty  stricken  air ;  and  the  slovenly 
woman  who  acted  as  landlady  seemed  disappointed  that  we 
did  not  buy  some  horridly  coarse  and  ugly  woolen  gloves  of 
her  own  manufacture. 

Our  road  now  ran  for  fourteen  miles  along  the  plateau  ?f 
the  Dovre,  more  than  3000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
This  is  not  a  plain  or  table  land,  but  an  undulating  region, 
with  hills,  valleys,  and  lakes  of  its  own ;  and  more  desolate 
landscapes  one  can  scarcely  find  elsewhere.  Everything  is 
grey,  naked,  and  barren,  not  on  a  scale  grand  enough  to  be 
imposing,  nor  with  any  picturesqueness  of  form  to  relieve 
its  sterility.  One  can  understand  the  silence  and  sternness 
of  the  Norwegians,  when  he  has  travelled  this  road.  But  I 
would  not  wish  my  worst  enemy  to  spend  more  than  one 
summer  as  a  solitary  herdsman  on  these  hills.  Let  any  dw 
ciple  of  Zimmerman  try  the  effect  of  such  a  solitude.  The 
statistics  of  insanity  in  Norway  exhibit  some  of  its  effects, 
and  that  which  is  most  common  is  most  destructive.  There 
never  was  a  greater  humbug  than  the  praise  of  solitude :  it 
is  the  fruitful  mother  of  all  evil,  and  no  man  covets  it  who 
has  not  something  bad  or  morbid  in  his  nature. 

By  noon  the  central  ridge  or  comb  of  the  Dovre  Fjeld 
rose  before  us,  with  the  six-hundred-year  old  station  of 
Jerkin  in  a  warm  nook  on  its  southern  side.  This  is  re- 
nowned as  the  best  post-station  in  Norway,  and  is  a  favour- 
ite resort  of  English  travellers  and  sportsmen,  who  come 
hither  to  climb  the  peak  of  Snaehfttteii,  and  to  stalk  rein- 


GULDBRANDSDAJ,   AND  THE   DUVRE   FJELD.  26S 

jeer.  F  did  not  find  the  place  particularly  inviting.  The 
two  women  who  had  charge  of  it  for  the  time  were  unusuall) 
silent  and  morose,  but  our  dinner  was  cheap  and  well  gotten 
up,  albeit  the  trout  were  not  the  freshest.  We  admired  the 
wonderful  paintings  of  the  landlord,  which  although  noticed 
by  Murray,  give  little  promise  for  Norwegian  art  in  these 
high  latitudes.  His  cows,  dogs,  and  men  are  all  snow-white, 
and  rejoice  in  an  original  anatomy. 

The  horses  on  this  part  of  the  road  were  excellent,  the 
road  admirable,  and  our  transit  was  therefore  thoroughly 
agreeable.  The  ascent  of  the  dividing  ridge,  after  leaving 
Jerkin,  is  steep  and  toilsome  for  half  a  mile,  but  with  this 
exception  the  passage  of  the  Dovre  Fjeld  is  remarkably 
easy.  The  highest  point  which  the  road  crossed  is  about 
4600  feet  above  the  sea,  or  a  little  higher  than  the  Brenner 
Pass  in  the  Tyrol.  But  there  grain  grows  and  orchards 
Dear  fruit,  while  here,  under  the  parallel  of  62°,  nearly  all 
vegetation  ceases,  and  even  the  omnivorous  northern  sheep 
can  find  no  pasturage.  Before  and  behind  you  lie  wastes  of 
naked  grey  mountains,  relieved  only  by  the  snow-patches  on 
their  summits.  I  have  seen  as  desolate  tracts  of  wilder- 
ness in  the  south  made  beautiful  by  the  lovely  hues  which 
they  took  from. the  air  ;  but  Nature  has  no  such  tender  fan- 
cies in  the  north.  She  is  a  realist  of  the  most  unpitying 
stamp,  and  gives  atmospheric  influences  which  make  that 
which  is  dark  and  bleak  still  darker  and  bleaker.  Black 
clouds  hung  low  on  the  horizon,  and  dull  grey  sheets  of  rain 
swept  now  and  then  across  the  nearer  heights.  Snaehiitten, 
»o  the  westward,  was  partly  veiled,  but  we  could  trace  his 
olunt  mound  of  altercate  black  rock  and  snow  nearly  to  the 


264  NORTJIKKX     niAVEL. 

apex.  The  peak  is  about  7700  feet  above  the  sea,  and  waf 
until  recently  considered  the  highest  in  Norway,  but  the 
Skagtolstind  has  been  ascertained  to  be  1 60  feet  higher,  and 
SnsehStten  is  dethroned. 

The  river  Driv  came  out  of  a  glen  on  our  left,  and  en- 
tered a  deep  gorge  in  front,  down  which  our  road  lay,  fol- 
lowing the  rapid  descent  of  the  foaming  stream.  At  the 
station  of  Kongsvold,  we  had  descended  to  3000  feet  again, 
yet  no  trees  appeared.  Beyond  this,  the  road  for  ten  miles 
has  been  with  great  labour  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock,  at 
the  bottom  of  a  frightful  defile,  like  some  of  those  among 
the  Alps.  Formerly,  it  climbed  high  up  on  the  mountain- 
side, running  on  the  brink  of  almost  perpendicular  cliffs, 
and  the  Vaarsti,  as  it  is  called,  was  then  reckoned  one  of 
the  most  difficult  and  dangerous  roads  in  the  country.  Now 
it  is  one  of  the  safest  and  most  delightful.  We  went  down 
the  pass  on  a  sharp  trot,  almost  too  fast  to  enjoy  the  wild 
bcenery  as  it  deserved.  The  Driv  fell  through  the  cleft  in 
a  succession  of  rapids,  while  smaller  streams  leaped  to  meet 
him  in  links  of  silver  cataract  down  a  thousand  feet  of  cliff. 
Birch  and  fir  now  clothed  the  little  terraces  and  spare  cor- 
ners of  soil,  and  the  huge  masses  of  rock,  hanging  over  oui 
heads,  were  tinted  with  black,  warm  brown,  and  russet 
orange,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  the  most  charming 
effects  of  colour.  Over  the  cornices  of  the  mountain-walls, 
hovering  at  least  two  thousand  feet  above,  gleamed  here  and 
there  the  scattered  snowy  jolims  of  the  highest  fjeld. 

The  pass  gradually  opened  into  a  narrow  valley,  when; 
ire  found  a  little  cultivation  again.  Here  was  the  post  of 
DrivBtuen,  kept  by  a  merry  old  lady.  Our  next  stage  do- 


GUL1)1!KAXUSDAJL   AND   THE   UOVKE   FJELD.  265 

wended  through  increasing  habitation  and  culture  to  tne  inn 
of  Rise,  when-  we  stopped  for  the  night,  having  the  Dovre 
Fjeld  fairly  behind  us.  The  morning  looked  wild  and 
*hreatening,  but  the  clouds  gradually  hauled  off  to  the  east- 
ward, leaving  us  the  promise  of  a  fine  day.  Our  road  led 
over  hills  covered  with  forests  of  fir  and  pine,  whence  we 
looked  into  a  broad  valley  clothed  with  the  same  dark  gar- 
ment of  forest,  to  which  the  dazzling  white  snows  of  the 
fjeld  in  the  background  made  a  striking  contrast.  We  here 
left  the  waters  of  the  Driv  and  struck  upon  those  of  the 
Orkla,  which  flow  into  Drontheim  FjorJ.  At  Stuen,  we 
got  a  fair  breakfast  of  eggs,  milk,  cheese,  bread  and  butter. 
Eggs  are  plentiful  everywhere,  yet,  singularly  enough,  we 
were  nearly  a  fortnight  in  Norway  before  we  either  saw  or 
heard  a  single  fowl  Where  they  were  kept  we  could  not 
discover,  and  why  they  did  not  crow  was  a  still  greater  mys- 
tery. Norway  is  really  the  land  of  silence.  For  an  inhab- 
ited country,  it  is  the  quietest  I  have  ever  seen.  No  won- 
der that  anger  and  mirth,  when  they  once  break  through  the 
hard  ice  of  Norwegian  life,  are  so  furious  and  uncontroll- 
able. These  inconsistent  extremes  may  always  be  reconcil- 
ed, when  we  understand  how  nicely  the  moral  nature  of  man 
is  balanced. 

Our  road  was  over  a  high,  undulating  tract  for  two  stages, 
commanding  wide  views  of  a  wild  wooded  region,  which  is 
Baid  to  abound  with  game.  The  range  of  sncwy  peaks  be- 
hind us  still  filled  the  sky,  appearing  so  near  at  hand  as  to 
deceive  the  eye  in  regard  to  their  height.  At  last,  we  came 
upon  the  brink  of  a  steep  descent,  overlooking  the  deep  glen 
of  the  Orkla,  u  singularly  picturesque  valley,  issuing  from 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 


between  the  bases  of  the  mountains,  and  winding  away  tcr 
the  northward.  Down  the  frightful  slant  our  horses  plunged, 
and  in  three  minutes  we  were  at  the  bottom,  with  flower- 
sown  meadows  on  either  hand,  and  the  wooded  sides  of  the 
glen  sweeping  up  to  a  waving  and  fringed  outline  against  the 
sky.  After  crossing  the  stream,  we  had  an  ascent  as  abrupt, 
:>n  the  other  side;  but  half-way  up  stood  the  station  ol 
Bjserkager,  where  we  left  our  panting  horses.  The  fas 
stations  were  now  at  an  end,  but  by  paying  fast  prices  we 
got  horses  with  less  delay.  In  the  evening,  a  man  travelling 
on  foot  offered  to  carry  f&rbud  notices  for  us  to  the  remain- 
ing stations;  if  we  would  pay  for  his  horse.  We  accepted  ; 
I  wrote  the  orders  in  my  best  Norsk,  and  on  the  following 
day  we  found  the  horses  in  readiness  everywhere. 

The  next  stage  was  an  inspiring  trot  through  a  park-like 
country,  clothed  with  the  freshest  turf  and  studded  with 
clumps  of  fir,  birch,  and  ash.  The  air  was  soft  and  warm, 
and  filled  with  balmy  scents  from  the  flowering  grasses,  and 
the  millions  of  blossoms  spangling  the  ground.  In  one 
place,  I  saw  half  an  acre  of  the  purest  violet  hue,  where  the 
pansy  of  our  gardens  grew  so  thickly  that  only  its  blossoms 
were  visible.  The  silver  green  of  the  birch  twinkled  in  the 
sun,  and  its  jets  of  delicale  foliage  started  up  everywhere 
with  exquisite  effect  amid  the  dark  masses  of  the  fir.  There 
was  little  cultivation  as  yet,  but  these  trees  formed  natural 
orchards,  which  suggested  a  design  in  their  planting  and 
redeemed  the  otherwise  savage  character  of  the  scenery. 
We  dipped  at  last  into  a  hollow,  down  which  flowed  one  ol 
the  tributaries  of  the  Guul  Elv,  the  course  of  which  we 
thence  followed  to  Drontheim. 


UlU>BKAXUt>UAl,   AND   THE   DOVRE  FJELD.  207 

One  of  the  stations  was  a  lonely  guard,  standing  apart 
from  the  road,  on  a  high  hill.  As  we  drove  up,  a  horrid  old 
hag  caine  out  to  receive  us.  "  Can  I  get  three  horses  soon  ?' 
1  asked.  "  No,"  she  answered  with  a  chuckle.  "  How 
Boon  ?"  "  In  a  few  hours,"  was  her  indifferent  reply,  but  the 
promise  of  paying  fast  rates  got  them  in  less  than  one.  My 
friend  wanted  a  glass  of  wine,  but  the  old  woman  said  she 
hud  nothing  but  milk.  We  were  sitting  on  the  steps  with 
our  pipes,  shortly  afterwards,  when  she  said :  "  Why  don't 
you  go  into  the  house  ?"  "  It  smells  too  strongly  of  paint," 
I  answered.  "  But  you  had  better  go  in/'  said  she,  and 
shuffled  off.  When  we  entered,  behold !  there  were  three 
glasses  of  very  good  Marsala  on  the  table.  "  How  do  you 
sell  your  milk  ?"  I  asked  her.  "  That  kind  is  three  skillings 
a  dram/'  she  answered.  The  secret  probably  was  that  she 
had  no  license  to  sell  wine.  1  was  reminded  of  an  incident 
which  occurred  to  me  in  Maine,  during  the  prevalence  of  the 
prohibitory  law.  I  was  staying  at  an  hotel  in  a  certain 
town,  and  jestingly  asked  the  landlord :  "  Where  is  the 
Maine  Law  ?  I  should  like  to  see  it."  "  Why,"  said  he,  "  I 
have  it  here  in  the  house ;"  and  he  unlocked  a  back  room 
and  astonished  me  with  the  sight  of  a  private  bar,  studded 
with  full  decanters. 

The  men  folks  were  all  away  at  work,  and  our  postillion 
was  a  strapping  girl  of  eighteen,  who  rode  behind  Braisted. 
She  was  gotten  up  on  an  immense  scale,  but  nature  had  ex 
pended  so  much  vigour  on  her  body  that  none  was  left  for  hei 
bruin.  She  was  a  consummate  representation  of  health  and 
stupidity.  At  the  station  where  we  stopped  for  the  night 
I  could  not  .help  admiring  the  solid  bulk  of  the  landlady's 


NORTH  r.RX    TRAVEL. 


sister.  Although  not  over  twenty  four  she  must  havt 
weighed  full  two  hundred.  Her  waist  was  of  remarkable 
thickness,  and  her  bust  might  be  made  into  three  average 
American  ones.  I  can  now  understand  why  Miigge  calls  his 
neroine  Ilda  "  the  strong  maiden.  " 

A  drive  of  thirty-five  miles  down  the  picturesque  valley 
of  the  Guul  brought  us  to  Drontheim  the  next  day  —  the 
eighth  after  leaving  Christiania. 


DRON  FHKIM  —  VO>  AGK   L'P  THE  COAST   OF   NORWAY  269 


CHAPTER   XX111. 

PROITTHIIM. VOYAGE    UP    THE    COAST   OF    NORWAY. 

OUR  first  view  of  Drontheim  (or  Trondhjem,  as  I«  should 
pnperly  be  written)  was  from  the  top  of  the  hill  behind 
ihe  town,  at  the  termination  of  six  miles  of  execrable  road, 
and  perhaps  the  relief  springing  from  that  circumstance 
heightened  the  agreeable  impression  which  the  scene  made 
upon  our  minds.  Below  us,  at  the  bottom  of  a  crescent- 
shaped  bay,  lay  Drontheim — a  mass  of  dark  red,  yellow, 
and  brown  buildings,  with  the  grey  cathedral  in  the  rear. 
The  rich,  well  cultivated  valley  of  the  Nid  stretched  be- 
hind it,  on  our  ri^ht,  past  the  Lierfoss,  whose  column  of 
foam  was  visible  three  miles  away,  until  the  hills,  rising 
more  high  and  bleak  behind  each  other,  completely  enclosed 
it.  The  rock-fortress  of  Munkholm,  in  front  of  the  city, 
broke  the  smooth  surface  of  the  fjord,  whose  further  shores, 
dim  with  passing  showers,  swept  away  to  the  north-east,  hid- 
ing the  termination  of  this  great  sea- arm,  which  is  some 
fifty  miles  distant.  The  panorama  was  certainly  on  a  grand 
icale,  and  presented  very  diversified  and  picturesque  fea- 
tures; but  1  can  by  no  means  agree  with  Dr.  Clarke,  whc 
compares  it  to  the  Bay  of  Naples.  Not  only  the  rich  col 


NORTHERN  TRAVtl.. 

ours  of  the  Mediterranean  are  wanting,  out  those  harmonic 
sweeps  and  curves  of  the  Italian  shores  and  hills  have 
nothing  in  common  with  these  rude,  ragged,  weather  beaten, 
defiant  forms. 

Descending  the  hill  between  rows  of  neat  country-houses. 
<re  passed  a  diminutive  fortification,  and  entered  the  city 
The  streets  are  remarkably  wide  and  roughly  paved,  cross- 
ing each  other  at  right  angles,  with  a  Philadelphian  regu- 
larity. The  houses  are  all  two  stories  high,  and  raised 
upon  ample  foundations,  so  that  the  doors  are  approached  by 
flights  of  steps — probably  on  account  of  the  deep  snows  dur- 
ing the  winter.  They  are  almost  exclusively  of  wood,  solid 
logs  covered  with  neat  clap-boards,  but  a  recent  law  forbids 
the  erection  of  any  more  wooden  houses,  and  in  the  course  of 
time,  the  town,  like  Christiania,  will  lose  all  that  is  peculiar 
and  characteristic  in  its  architecture.  A  cleaner  place  can 
Bcarcely  be  found,  and  I  also  noticed,  what  is  quite  rare  in 
the  North,  large  square  fountains  or  wells,  at  the  intersection 
of  all  the  principal  streets.  The  impression  which  Dron- 
theim  makes  upon  the  stranger  is  therefore  a  cheerful  and 
genial  one.  Small  and  unpretending  though  it  be.  it  is  full 
of  pictures ;  the  dark  blue  fjord  closes  the  vista  of  half  its 
streets ;  hills  of  grey  rock,  draped  with  the  greenest  turf, 
overlook  it  on  either  side,  and  the  beautiful  valley  of  the 
Nid,  one  of  the  loveliest  nooks  of  Norway,  lies  in  its  rear. 

We  drove  to  the  Hotel  de  Belle-Vue,  one  of  the  two  lit 
tie  caravanserais  of  which  the  town  boasts,  and  were  fortu 
Date  in  securing  the  two  vacant  rooms.  The  hote]  business 
in  Norway  is  far  behind  that  of  any  other  country,  except 
in  regard  to  charges,  where  it  is  far  in  advance.  Consider 


DRONTHE1M. — VOYAGE  UP  THE  COAST  OF  NORWAY.     271 

in  IT  what  one  gets  for  his  money,  this  is  the  most  expensive 
country  in  the  world  for  foreigners.  Except  where  the  rates 
are  fixed  by  law,  as  in  posting,  the  natives  pay  much  less; 
and  here  is  an  instance  of  double-dealing  which  does  no* 
harmonise  with  the  renowned  honesty  of  the  Norwegians 
At  the  Belle- Vue,  we  were  furnished  with  three  very  meagre 
meals  a  day,  at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  and  a  half.  The  at- 
tendance was  performed  by  two  boys  of  fourteen  or  fifteen, 
whose  services,  as  may  be  supposed,  were  quite  inadequate  to 
the  wants  of  near  twenty  persons.  The  whole  business  oi 
the  establishment  devolved  on  these  two  fellows,  the  land- 
lady, though  goodrhumoured  and  corpulent,  as  was  meet, 
knowing  nothing  about  the  business,  and,  on  the  whole,  it 
was  a  wonder  that  matters  were  not  worse.  It  is  singular 
that  in  a  pastoral  country  like  Norway  one  gets  nothing  but 
rancid  butter,  and  generally  sour  cream,  where  both  should 
be  of  the  finest  quality.  Nature  is  sparing  of  her  gifts,  -to 
be  sure  ;  but  what  she  does  furnish  is  of  the  best,  as  it  comes 
from  her  hand.  Of  course,  one  does  not  look  for  much  cu- 
linary skill,  and  is  therefore  not  disappointed,  but  the  dairy 
is  the  primitive  domestic  art  of  all  races,  and  it  is  rather 
surprising  to  find  it  in  so  backward  a  state. 

My  friend,  who  received  no  letters,  and  had  no  transat- 
lantic interests  to  claim  his  time,  as  I  had.  applied  himseli 
to  seeing  the  place,  \vhich  he  accomplished,  with  praisewor 
thy  industry,  in  one  day.  He  walked  out  to  the  falls  of  th 
Nid.  three  miles  up  the  valley,  and  was  charmed  with  them. 
He  then  entered  the  venerable  cathedral,  where  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  a  Protestant  clergyman  perform  higb 
tna?s  in  a  scarlet  surplice,  with  a  gold  cross  on  his  back 


NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 

The  State  Church  of  Norway,  which,  like  Unit  of  Sweden 
is  Lutheran  of  a  very  antiquated  type,  not  only  preserve* 
this  ritual,  but  also  the  form  of  confession  (in  a  general  way. 
I  believe,  and  without  reference  to  particular  sins)  and  of 
absolution.  Of  course,  it  is  violently  dogmatic  und  illiberal, 
and  there  is  little  vital  religious  activity  in  the  whole  coun- 
try Until  within  a  very  few  years,  no  uther  sects  were  tol- 
erated, and  even  yet  there  is  simply  freedom  of  conscience; 
but  not  equai  political  rights,  for  those  of  other  denomina 
tions.  This  concession  has  perhaps  saved  the  church  from 
becoming  a  venerable  fossil,  yet  one  still  finds  persons  who 
regret  that  it  should  have  been  made,  not  knowing  that  all 
truth,  to  retain  its  temper,  must  be  whetted  against  an  op- 
posing blade.  According  to  the  new  constitution  of  Nor- 
way, the  king  must  be  crowned  in  the  cathedral  of  Dron- 
theim.  Bernadotte  received  the  proper  consecration,  but 
Oscar,  though  King  of  Norway,  has  not  yet  seen  fit  to 
accept  it.  I  once  heard  a  Norwegian  exclaim,  with  a  sort 
of  jealous  satisfaction  :  "  Oscar  calls  himself  King  of  Nor- 
way, but  he  is  a  king  withouta  crown  !"  1  cannot  see,  how- 
ever, that  this  fact  lessens  his  authority  as  sovereign,  in  the 
least. 

There  is  a  weekly  line  of  steamers,  established  by  the 
Storthing  (1  ,egislative  Assembly),  to  Hammerfest  and  around 
the  North  Cape.  The  "  Nordkap,"  the  largest  and  best  of 
these  boats,  was  to  leave  Drontheim  on  Saturday  evening, 
ihc  18th  of  July,  and  we  lost  no  time  in  securing  berths,  aa 
another  week  would  have  made  it  too  late  for  the  perpetual 
sunshine  of  the  northern  summer.  Here  again,  one  is  in- 
troduced to  a  knowledge  of  customs  and  regulations  un 

o  o 


DRONTHIEA1. — VOYiGE   UP  THE  COAST  Of    NORWAY. 

known  elsewhere.  The  ticket  merely  secures  you  a  place  OL 
board  the  steamer,  but  neither  a  berth  nor  provisions.  The 
latter  you  obtain  from,  a  restaurateur  on  board,  according  to 
fcxed  rates  ;  the  former  depends  on  the  will  of  the  captain, 
who  can  stow  you  where  he  chooses.  On  the  "  Nordkap" 
the  state-rooms  were  already  occupied,  and  there  remained 
a  single  small  saloon  containing  eight. berths  Here  we  did 
very  well  so  long  as  there  were  only  English  and  American 
occupants,  who  at  once  voted  to  have  the  skylight  kept  open; 
but  after  two  Norwegians  were  added  to  our  company,  we  lived 
in  a  state  of  perpetual  warfare,  the  latter  sharing  the  national 
dread  of  fresh  air;  and  yet  one  of  them  was  a  professor 
from  the  University  of  Christiania,  and  the  other  a  physi- 
cian, who  had  charge  of  the  hospital  in  Bergen  !  With  this 
exception,  we  had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  vessel. 
She  was  very  stanch  and  steady-going,  with  a  spacious  airy 
saloon  on  deck  ;  no  captain  could  have  been  more  kind  and 
gentlemanly,  and  there  was  quite  as  much  harmony  among 
the  passengers  as  could  reasonably  have  been  expected.  Our 
party  consisted  of  five  Americans,  three  English,  two  Ger- 
mans, and  one  Frenchman  (M.  Gay,  Membre  de  P  Academic), 
besides  a  variety  of  Norwegians  from  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

Leaving  our  carrioles  and  part  of  our  baggage  behind  ta, 
we  rowed  out  to  the  steamer  in  a  heavy  shower.  The  sun 
was  struggling  with  dark  grey  rain-clouds  all  the  evening, 
and  just  as  we  hove  anchor,  threw  a  splendid  triumphal  irig 
across  the  bay,  completely  spanning  the  town,  which,  with 
ihe  sheltering  hills,  glimmered  in  the  rosy  mist  floating 
within  the  bow.  Enclosed  by  such  a  dazzling  frame  the 


274  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

picture  of  Drontheim  shone  with  a  magical  lustre,  like  » 
rision  of  Asgaard,  beckoning  to  us  from  the  tempestuous 
seas.  But  we  were  bound  for  the  north,  the  barriers  ol 
Niflhem,  the  land  of  fog  and  sleet,  and  we  disregarded  the 
celestial  token,  though  a  second  perfect  rainbow  overarched 
the  first,  and  the  two  threw  their  curves  over  hill  and  for- 
tress and  the  bosom  of  the  rainy  fjord,  until  they  almost 
touched  our  vessel  on  either  side.  In  spite  of  the  rain,  we 
remained  on  deck  until  a  late  hour,  enjoying  the  bold  sce- 
nery of  the  outer  fjord — here,  precipitous  woody  shores, 
gashed  with  sudden  ravines;  there,  jet-black  rocky  peaks, 
resembling  the  porphyry  hills  of  the  African  deserts ;  and 
now  and  then,  encircling  the  sheltered  coves,  soft  green  fields 
glowing  with  misty  light,  and  the  purple  outlines  of  snow- 
streaked  mountains  in  the  distance. 

The  morning  was  still  dark  and  rainy.  We  were  at  first 
running  between  mountain-islands  of  bare  rock  and  the  iron 
eoast  of  the  mainland,  after  which  came  a  stretch  of  open 
sea  for  two  hours,  and  at  noon  we  reached  Bj5rd,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Namsen  Fjord.  Here  there  was  half  a  dozen 
red  houses  on  a  bright  green  slope,  with  a  windmill  out  of 
gear  crowning  the  rocky  hill  in  the  rear.  The  sky  gradu- 
ally cleared  as  we  entered  the  Namsen  Fjord,  which  charmed 
us  with  the  wildness  and  nakedness  of  its  shores,  studded 
with  little  nooks  and  corners  of  tillage,  which  sparkled  like 
oases  of  tropical  greenness,  in  such  a  rough  setting.  Pre- 
cipices of  dark -red  rock,  streaked  with  foamy  lines  of  water 
from  the  snows  melting  upon  their  crests,  frowned  over  the 
narrow  channels  between  the  islands,  and  through  their 
and  gorges  we  caught  sight  of  the  loftier  ranges  in 


ORONTHK1M.— V  A  ACK  I/P  THE  COAST  OK  NORWAY     275 

land.  Xamsos,  at  the  head  of  the  fjord,  is  a  red-roofed 
town  of  a  few  hundred  inhabitants,  with  a  pleasant  back- 
ground of  barley-fields  and  birchen  groves.  The  Namsen 
valley,  behind  it,  is  one  of  the  richest  in  this  part  of  Nor- 
way, and  is  a  great  resort  of  English  salmon-fishers.  There 
vaa  a  vessel  of  two  hundred  tons  on  the  stocks,  and  a  few 
Coasting;  crafts  lying  at  anchor. 

We  had  a  beautiful  afternoon  voyage  out  another  arm  of 
the  fjord,  and  again  entered  the  labyrinth  of  islands  fringing 
the  coast.  Already,  the  days  had  perceptibly  lengthened, 
and  the  increased  coldness  of  the  air  at  night  indicated  our 
approach  to  the  Arctic  Circle.  I  was  surprised  at  the 
amount  of  business  done  at  the  little  stations  where  we 
touched.  Few  of  these  contained  a  dozen  houses,  yet  the 
quantity  of  passengers  and  freight  which  we  discharged  and 
took  on  board,  at  each,  could  only  be  explained  by  the  fact 
that  these  stations  are  generally  outlets  for  a  tolerably  large 
population,  hidden  in  the  valleys  and  fjords  behind,  which 
the  steamer  does  not  visit.  Bleak  and  desolate  as  the  coast 
appears,  the  back  country  has  its  fertile  districts — its  pas- 
ture-ground, its  corn-land  and  forests,  of  which  the  voyager 
sees  nothing,  and  thus  might  be  led  to  form  very  erroneous 
conclusions.  Before  we  had  been  twenty-four  hours  out 
from  Drontheim.  there  was  a  marked  change  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  people  we  took  on  board.  Not  even  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Christiania  or  in  the  rich  Guldbrandsdal 
were  the  inhabitants  so  well-dressed,  so  prosperous  (judging 
from  outward  signs,  merely),  or  so  intelligent.  They  are  in 
every  respect  more  agreeable  and  promising  specimens  of 
humanity  than  their  brothers  of  Southern  Norway,  notwith- 


21 '6  NORTHERN   TRAVEL 

standing  the  dark  and  savage  scenery  amidst  which  their  lot 
is  cast. 

Toward  midnight,  we  approached  the  rock  of  Torghfttten. 
rising  1200  feet  high,  in  the  shape  of  a  tall-crowned,  battered 
'  wide-awake,"  above  the  low,  rocky  isles  and  reefs  which 
surround  it.  This  rock  is  famous  for  a  natural  tunnel, 
passing  directly  through  its  heart — the  path  of  an  arrow 
which  the  Giant  Horseman  (of  whom  I  shall  speak  presently 
ahot  at  a  disdainful  maiden,  equally  colossal,  in  the  old 
mythological  times,  when  Odin  got  drunk  nightly  in  Wai- 
halla.  We  were  all  on  the  look-out  for  this  tunnel,  which, 
according  to  Murray,  is  large  enough  for  a  ship  to  go  through 
— if  it  were  not  some  six  hundred  feet  above  the  sea-level. 
We  had  almost  passed  the  rock  and  nothing  of  the  kind 
could  be  seen  ;  but  Capt.  Riis,  who  was  on  deck,  encouraged 
us  to  have  a  little  patience,  changed  the  steamer's  course, 
and  presently  we  saw  a  dark  cavern  yawning  in  the  face  of 
a  precipice  on  the  northern  side  It  was  now  midnight,  but 
a  sunset  light  tinged  the  northern  sky,  and  the  Torghfitten 
yet  stood  in  twilight.  "  Shall  we  see  through  it  ?"  was  tha 
question ;  but  while  we  were  discussing  the  chances,  a  faint 
star  sparkled  in  the  midst  of  the  cavernous  gloom.  "  You 
see  it  because  you  imagine  it,"  cried  some ;  yet,  no,  it  was 
steadfast,  and  grew  broad  and  bright,  until  even  the  most 
gceptical  recognised  the  pale  midnight  sky  at  the  bottom  of 
the  gigantic  arch. 

My  friend  aroused  me  at  five  in  the  morning  to  see  the 
Seven  Sisters — seven  majestic  peaks,  4000  feet  high,  anl 
seated  closely  side  by  side,  with  their  feet  in  the  sea.  They 
all  wore  nightcaps  of  gray  fog,  and  had  a  sullen  and  sleepy 


.— VOYAGE  UP  THE  COAST  OF  NORWAT     277 

air.  I  imagined  they  snored,  but  it  was  a  damp  wind  driv- 
ing over  the  rocks.  They  were  northern  beauties,  hard- 
featured  and  large-boned,  and  I  would  not  give  a  graceful 
southern  hill,  like  Monte  Albano  or  the  Paphian  Olympus, 
for  the  whole  of  them.  So  I  turned  in  again,  and  did  not 
awake  until  the  sun  had  dried  the  decks,  and  the  split 
twisted  and  contorted  forms  of  the  islands  gave  promise  of 
those  remarkable  figures  which  mark  the  position  of  the 
Arctic  Circle.  There  was  already  a  wonderful  change  in 
the  scenery.  The  islands  were  high  and  broken,  rising  like 
towers  and  pyramids  from  the  water,  and  grouped  together 
in  the  most  fantastic  confusion.  Between  their  jagged  pin- 
nacles, and  through  their  sheer  walls  of  naked  rock,  we  could 
trace  the  same  formation  among  the  hills  of  the  mainland, 
while  in  the  rear,  white  against  the  sky,  stretched  the  snowy 
table-land  which  forms  a  common  summit  for  all.  One  is 
bewildered  in  the  attempt  to  describe  such  scenery.  There 
is  no  central  figure,  no  prevailing  character,  no  sharp  con- 
trasts, which  may  serve  as  a  guide  whereby  to  reach  the  im- 
agination of  the  reader.  All  is  confused,  disordered,  chaotic. 
One  begins  to  understand  the  old  Norse  myth  of  these  stones 
being  thrown  by  the  devil  in  a  vain  attempt  to  prevent  the 
Lord  from  finishing  the  world.  Grand  as  they  are,  singly, 
you  are  so  puzzled  by  their  numbers  and  by  the  fantastic 
manner  in  which  they  seem  to  dance  around  you,  as  the 
ateamer  threads  the  watery  labyrinth,  that  you  scarcely  ap- 
preciate them  as  they  deserve.  Take  almost  any  one  of 
these  hundreds,  and  place  it  inland,  anywhere  ir  Europe  01 
America,  and  it  will  be  visited,  sketched  and  sung  to  dis- 
traction. 
13 


278  NOKTHKKN   TRAVEL 

At  last  we  saw  in  the  west,  far  out  at  sea,  the  four  toweri 
of  Threnen,  rising  perpendicularly  many  hundred  feet  from 
the  water.  Before  us  was  the  Hestmnnd.  or  Horseman, 
who  bridles  his  rocky  steed  with  the  polar  circle.  At  first, 
tt  appeared  like  a  square  turret  crowning  an  irregular  mass 
,A  island-rock,  but,  as  we  approached  a  colossal  head  rounded 
itst-lf  at  the  top,  and  a  sweeping  cloak  fell  from  the  broad 
shoulder,  flowing  backward  to  the  horse's  flanks.  Still,  there 
was  no  horse;  but  here  again  our  captain  took  the  steamer 
considerably  out  of  her  course,  so  that,  at  a  distance  of  a 
mile  the  whole  enormous  figure,  1500  feet  in  height,  lay 
clearly  before  us.  A  heavy  beard  fell  from  the  grand,  Jupi- 
tolian  head ;  the  horse,  with  sharp  e;irs  erect  and  head  bent 
down,  seemed  to  be  plunging  into  the  sea,  which  was  already 
above  his  belly ;  the  saddle  had  slipped  forward,  so  that  the 
rider  sat  upon  his  shoulders,  but  with  his  head  proudly  lifted, 
as  if  conscious  of  his  fate,  and  taking  a  last  look  at  the 
world.  Was  it  not  All-Father  Odin,  on  his  horse  Sleipner, 
forsaking  the  new  race  which  had  ceased  to  worship  him  ? 
The  colossi  of  the  Orient — Rameses  and  Brahma  and  Boodh 
— dwindle  into  insignificance  before  this  sublime  natural 
monument  to  the  lost  gods  of  the  North. 

At  the  little  fishing-village  of  Anklakken,  near  the 
Horseman,  a  fair  was  being  held,  and  a  score  or  more  of 
coasting  craft,  gay  with  Norwegian  flags,  lay  at  anchor. 
These  jVcgp/.<?,  as  they  are  called,  have  a  single  mast,  with  a 
large  square  sail,  precisely  like  those  of  the  Japanese  fishing 
junks,  ana  their  hulls  are  scarcely  less  heavy  and  clumty 
They  are  the  Norwegian  boats  of  a  thousand  years  ago  ;  alJ 
attempt  to  introduce  a  better  form  of  ship-buiMing  having 


nRONTIIEIM. — VOYAGE   UP   THE   COAST   OF   NORWAY 

been  in  vain.  But  the  romantic  traveller  should  not  sup 
pose  that  he  beholds  the  "dragons"  of  t'.e  Vikings,  which 
were  a  very  different  craft,  and  have  long  since  disappeared. 
The  jcBgts  are  slow,  but  good  seaboats,  and  as  the  article 
haste  is  not  in  demand  anywhere  in  Norway,  they  probabl) 
answer  every  purpose  as  well  as  more  rational  vessels. 
Those  we  saw  belonged  to  traders  who  cruise  along  the 
coast  during  the  summer,  attending  the  various  fairs,  which 
appear  to  be  the  principal  recreation  of  the  people.  At  any 
rate,  they  bring  some  life  and  activity  into  these  silent  soli- 
tudes. We  had  on  board  the  effects  of  an  Englishman  who 
went  on  shore  to  see  a  fair  and  was  left  behind  by  a  previous 
steamer.  He  had  nothing  with  him  but  the  clothes  on  his 
back,  and  spoke  no  Norsk :  so  the  captain  anxiously  looked 
out  for  a  melancholy,  dilapidated  individual  at  every  station 
we  touched  at — but  he  looked  in  vain,  for  we  neither  saw 
nor  heard  anything  of  the  unfortunate  person. 

All  the  afternoon,  we  had  a  continuation  of  the  same 
wonderful  scenery — precipices  of  red  rock  a  thousand  feet 
high,  with  snowy,  turreted  summits,  and  the  loveliest  greeu 
glens  between.  To  the  east  were  vast  snow-fields,  covering 
the  eternal  glaciers  of  the  Alpine  range.  As  we  looked  up 
the  Salten  Fjord,  while  crossing  its  mouth,  the  snows  of  Sul- 

telma,  the  highest  mountain  in  Lappmark,  6000  feet  above 
the  sea.  were  visible,  about  fifty  miles  distant.  Next  came 
the  little  town  of  Bodo,  where  we  stopped  for  the  night.  I 
is  a  cluster  of  wooden  houses,  with  roofs  of  green  sod,  con« 
taining  about  three  hundred  inhabitants.  We  found  pota- 
toes in  the  gardens,  some  currant  bushes,  and  a  few  hardy 

vegetables,  stunted  ash  trees  and  some  patches  of  barley 


230  NORTHERS  TRAVEL 

The  sun  set  a  little  before  eleven  o'clock,  but  left  behind  hin. 
a  glory  of  colours  which  I  have  never  seen  surpassed.  The 
snowy  mountains  of  Lappinark  were  transmuted  into  pyra- 
mids of  scarlet  flame,  beside  which  the  most  gorgeous  sun- 
set illuminations  of  the  Alps  would  have  been  pale  and  tame. 
The  sky  was  a  sheet  of  saffron,  amber  and  rose,  reduplicat- 
ed in  the  glassy  sea,  and  the  peaked  island  of  Laudegode  in 
the  west,  which  stood  broad  against  the  glow,  hecanie  a  mass 
of  violet  hue,  topped  with  cliffs  of  crimson  fire.  I  sat  down 
on  deck  and  tried  to  sketch  this  superb  spectacle,  in  colours 
which  nobody  will  believe  to  be  real.  Before  I  had  finish- 
ed, the  sunset  which  had  lighted  one  end  of  Landegode  be- 
came sunrise  at  the  other,  and  the  fading  Alps  burned  anew 
with  the  flames  of  momiig. 


THE    LOFUDE.V    ISLES.  281 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

THE    LOFODEX     ISLES. 

THE  northern  summer  soon  teaches  one  fashionable  habits 
of  life.  Like  the  man  whose  windows  Sidney  Smith  dark- 
ened, and  who  slept  all  day  because  he  thought  it  was  night, 
you  keep  awake  all  ni^ht  because  you  forget  that  it  IB  not 
day.  One's  perception  of  time  contracts  in  some  mysterious 
way,  and  the  sun,  setting  at  eleven,  seems  to  be  no  later  than 
when  he  set  at  seven.  You  think  you  will  enjoy  the  even- 
ing twilight  an  hour  or  two  before  going  to  bed,  and  lo !  the 
morning  begins  to  dawn.  It  seems  absurd  to  turn  in  and 
sleep  by  daylight,  but  you  sleep,  nevertheless,  until  eight  01 
nine  o'clock,  and  get  up  but  little  refreshed  with  your  repose. 
You  miss  the  grateful  covering  of  darkness,  the  sweet,  wel- 
come gloom,  which  shuts  your  senses,  one  after  one,  like  the 
closing  petals  of  a  flower,  in  the  restoring  trance  of  the  night. 
The  light  comes  through  your  eyelids  as  you  sleep,  and  e 
certain  nervous  life  of  the  body  that  should  sleep  too  keeps 
awake  and  active.  I  soon  began  to  feel  the  wear  and  tear 
of  perpetual  daylight,  in  spite  of  its  novelty  and  the  manj 
advantages  which  it  presents  to  the  traveller. 

At  Bddo,  we  were  in  sight  of  tV  l.ofoden  Islands,  whic)- 


282  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

filled  up  all  the  northern  and  western  horizon,  rwing  likt 
blue  saw-teeth  beyond  the  broad  expanse  of  the  West  Fjord 
which  separates  them  from  the  group  of  the  shore  islands 
The  next  morning,  we  threaded  a  perfect  labyrinth  jf  rocks, 
after  passing  Groto,  and  headed  across  the  fjord,  for  Bal- 
itad,  on  West-Vaagoe,  one  of  the  outer  isles.  This  passage 
is  often  very  rough,  especially  when  the  wind  blows  from 
the  south-west,  rolling  the  heavy  swells  of  the  Atlantic  into 
the  open  mouth  of  the  fjord.  We  were  very  much  favoured 
by  the  weather,  having  a  clear  sky,  with  a  light  north  wind 
and  smooth  sea.  The  long  line  of  jagged  peaks,  stretching 
from  VaBroe  in  the  south  west  to  the  giant  ridges  of  Hi  idoe 
in  the  north  east,  united  themselves  in  the  distance  with  tin5 
Alpine  chain  of  the  mainland  behind  us,  forming  an  amphi- 
theatre  of  sharp,  snowy  summits,  which  embraced  five-sixths 
of  the  entire  circle  of  the  horizon,  and  would  have  certainly 
numbered  not  less  than  two  hundred.  Von  Buch  compares 
the  Lofodens  to  the  jaws  of  a  shark,  and  most  travellers 
since  his  time  have  resuscitated  the  comparison,  but  I  did 
not  find  it  so  remarkably  applicable.  There  are  shark 
tooth  peaks  here  and  there,  it  is  true,  but  the  peculiar  con- 
formation of  Norway — extensive  plateaus,  forming  the  sum- 
mit-level of  the  mountains — extends  also  to  these  islands, 
whose  only  valleys  are  those  which  open  to  the  sea,  and 
whose  interiors  are  uninhabitable  snowy  tracts,  mostly  above 
the  line  of  vegetation. 

On  approaching  the  islands,  we  had  a  fair  view  of  the 
last  outposts  of  the  group — the  solid  barriers  against  which 
the  utmost  fury  of  the  Atlantic  dashes  in  vain.  This  side 
•)f  VserSe  lay  the  large  island  of  Moskde,  between  whicb 


THE   LOFODEN  ISLES.  28»1 

and  a  large  solitary  rock  in  the  middle  of  the  strait  di 
viding  them,  is  the  locality  of  the  renowned  Maelstrdm — 
now,  alas  !  almost  as  mythical  as  the  kraaken  or  great  sea 
snake  of  the  Norwegian  fjords.  It  is  a  great  pity  tha+  the 
geographical  illusions  of  our  boyish  days  cannot  ren  va. 
You  learn  that  the  noise  of  Niagara  can  be  heard  120  miles 
off,  and  that  "  some  Indians,  in  their  canoes,  have  ventured 
down  it,  with  safety."  Well,  one  could  give  up  the  Indiana 
without  much  difficulty ;  but  it  is  rather  discouraging  to 
step  out  of  the  Falls  Depot  for  the  first  time,  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  cataract,  and  hear  no  sound  except 
*«  Cab  sir  ?"  «  Hotel,  sir  ?"  So  of  the  Maelstrom,  denoted 
on  my  schoolboy  map  by  a  great  spiral  twist,  which  sug- 
gested to  me  a  tremendous  whirl  of  the  ocean  currents, 
aided  by  the  information  that  "vessels  cannot  approach 
nearer  than  seven  miles."  In  Olney,  moreover,  there  was 
a  picture  of  a  luckless  bark,  half-way  down  the  vortex.  I 
had  been  warming  my  imagination,  as  we  came  up  the 
coast,  with  Campbell's  sonorous  lines : 

"  Round  the  shores  where  runic  Odin 

Howls  his  war-song  to  the  gale ; 
Round  the  isles  where  loud  Lofoden 
Whirls  to  death  the  roaring  whale ;' 

and,  as  we  looked  over  the  smooth  water  towards  Moskfte 
felt  a  renewed  desire  to  make  an  excursion  thither  on  ou. 
return  from  the  north.  But,  according  to  Captain  Riis, 
.nd  other  modern  authorities  which  I  consulted,  the  Mael- 
Btroin  has  lost  all  its  terrors  and  attractions.  Under  certaic 
conditions  of  wind  and  tide,  an  eddy  is  formed  in  the  strait 


284  NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 

it  is  true,  which  may  be  dangerous  to  small  boats — lilt  tht 
place  is  by  no  means  so  much  dreaded  as  the  Salten  Fjord 
where  the  tide,  rushing  in,  is  caught  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  form  a  bore,  as  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  frequently 
proves  destructive  to  the  fishing  craft  It  is  the  general 
opinion  that  some  of  the  rocks  which  formerly  made  the 
MaelstrSm  so  terrible  have  been  worn  away,  or  that  some 
submarine  convulsion  has  taken  place  which  has  changed 
the  action  of  the  waters;  otherwise  it  is  impossible  to  ac- 
count for  the  reputation  it  once  possessed. 

It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  any  a  ,cident  to  a 
boat  among  these  islands  is  more  likely  to  prot  e  disastrous 
than  elsewhere,  since  there  are  probably  not  a  score  out  of 
the  twenty  thousand  Lofoden  fishermen  who  pass  half  their 
lives  on  the  water,  who  know  how  to  swim.  The  water  is 
too  cold  to  make  bathing  a  luxury,  and  they  are  not  suffici- 
ently prepossessed  in  favour  of  cleanliness  to  make  it  a  duty. 
Nevertheless,  they  are  bold  sailors,  in  their  way,  and  a 
tougher,  hardier,  more  athletic  class  of  men  it  would  be  dif- 
ficult to  find.  Handsome  they  are  not,  but  quite  the  re- 
verse, and  the  most  of  them  have  an  awkward  and  uncouth 
air ;  but  it  is  refreshing  to  look  at  their  broad  shoulders, 
their  brawny  chests,  and  the  massive  muscles  of  their  legs 
and  arms.  During  the  whole  voyage,  I  saw  but  one  man 
who  appeared  to  be  diseased.  Such  men,  I  suspect,  were 
the  Vikings — rough,  powerful,  ugly,  dirty  fellows,  with  a 
few  primitive  virtues,  and  any  amount  of  robust  vices.  We 
joticed,  however,  a  marked  change  for  the  better  in  the  com- 
mon people,  as  we  advanced  northward.  They  were  alto- 
gether better  dressed,  better  mannered,  and  more  independenf 


THE   LOFODEN  ISLES. 

and  intelligent,  but  with  a  hard,  keen,  practical  expression 
of  face,  such  as  one  finds  among  the  shoremen  of  New-Eng- 
land. The  school  system  of  Norway  is  still  sadly  deficient, 
but  there  is  evidently  no  lack  of  natural  capacity  among 
these  people.  Their  prevailing  vice  is  intemperance,  which 
here,  as  in  all  other  parts  of  the  country,  is  beginning  to 
diminish  since  restrictions  have  been  placed  upon  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  spirituous  liquors,  simultaneously  with 
the  introduction  of  cheap  and  excellent  fermented  drinks. 
The  statistics  of  their  morality  also  show  a  better  state  of 
things  than  in  the  South.  There  is  probably  no  country 
population  in  the  world  where  licentiousness  prevails  to  such 
an  extent  as  in  the  districts  of  Guldbrandsdal  and  Hede- 
mark. 

A.  voyage  of  four  hours  across  the  West  Fjord  brought 
us  to  the  little  village  of  Batstad,  at  the  southern  end  of 
West-Vaagoe.  The  few  red,  sod-roofed  houses  were  built 
upon  a  rocky  point,  behind  which  were  some  patches  of 
bright  green  pasture,  starred  with  buttercups,  overhung  by 
a  splendid  peak  of  dark-red  rock,  two  thousand  feet  in 
height.  It  was  a  fine  frontispiece  to  the  Lofoden  scenery 
which  now  opened  before  us.  Running  along  the  coast  of 
West  and  Kast  Vaagoe,  we  had  a  continual  succession  of 
the  wildest  and  grandest  pictures — thousand  feet  precipices), 
with  turrets  and  needles  of  rock  piercing  the  sky,  dazzling 
Buow-fields,  leaking  away  in  cataracts  which  filled  the  ra- 
vines with  foam,  and  mazes  of  bald,  sea-worn  rocks,  which 
geem  to  have  been  thrown  down  from  the  scarred  peaks  in 
some  terrible  convulsion  of  nature.  Here  and  there  were 

hollows,  affording  stony  pasturage  for  a  few  sheep  and  cows 
13* 


286  SOKTHKUN  TKAVKl.. 

and  little  wooden  fisher-huts  stood  on  the  shore  in  the  arruf 
of  sheltered  coves.  At  the  village  of  Svolvaer,  which  if 
built  upon  a  pile  of  bare  stones,  we  took  on  board  a  num- 
ber of  ladies  in  fashionable  dresses,  with  bonnets  on  the 
backs  of  their  heads  and  a  sufficiency  of  cumbrous  petti- 
coats to  make  up  for  the  absence  of  hoops,  which  have  not 
yet  got  further  north  than  Dronthiern.  In  seeing  these  un- 
expected apparitions  emerge  from  such  a  wild  corner  of 
chaos  I  could  not  but  wonder  at  the  march  of  modern  civili- 
sation. Pianos  in  Lapland,  Parisian  dresses  among  the 
Lofodens,  billiard- tables  in  Hammerfest — whither  shall  we 
turn  to  find  the  romance  of  the  North ! 

We  sailed,  in  the  lovely  nocturnal  sunshine,  through  the 
long,  river-like  channel — the  Rasksund,  I  believe,  it  is  called 
— between  the  islands  of  East-Vaagoe  and  Hindoe,  the  larg- 
est of  the  Lofodens.  For  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles  th  •  strait 
was  in  no  place  more  than  a  mile  in  breadth,  while  it  \va? 
frequently  less  than  a  quarter.  The  smooth  water  was  a 
perfect  mirror,  reflecting  on  one  side  the  giant  cliffs,  with 
their  gorges  choked  with  snow,  their  arrowy  pinnacles  and 
white  lines  of  falling  water — on  the  other,  hills  turfed  to 
the  summit  with  emerald  velvet,  sprinkled  with  pale  groves 
of  birch  and  alder,  and  dotted,  along  their  bases,  with  the 
dwellings  of  the  fishermen.  It  was  impossible  to  believe 
that  we  were  floating  on  an  arm  of  the  Atlantic — it  wan 
some  unknown  river,  or  a  lake  high  up  among  the  Alpine 
peaks.  The  silence  of  these  shores  added  to  the  impre.-sion 
Now  and  then  a  white  sea-gull  fluttered  about  the  cliifs,  or 
an  eider  duck  paddled  across  some  glassy  cove,  but  no  sound 
was  heard:  there  was  no  sail  on  the  water,  no  human  l>einf,' 


THE   I.OFODKN  isr.F.s.  287 

.ni  the  shore.  Emerging  at  last  from  this  wild  and  enchant- 
in^;  strait,  we  stood  across  a  bay,  opening  southward  to  the 
Atlantic,  to  the  port  of  Steilo,  on  one  of  the  outer  islanda 
Here  the  broad  front  of  the  island,  rising  against  the  roseate 
ky,  was  one  swell  of  the  most  glorious  green,  down  to  tht 
very  edge  of  the  sea,  while  the  hills  of  East-Vaagoe.  across 
the  bay,  showed  only  naked  and  defiant  rock,  with  summit- 
fields  of  purple-tinted  snow.  In  splendour  of  coloring,  the 
tropics  were  again  surpassed,  but  the  keen  north  wind 
obliged  us  to  enjoy  it  in  an  overcoat. 

Toward  midnight,  the  sun  was  evidently  above  the  horizon, 
though  hidden  by  intervening  mountains.  Braisted  and 
another  American  made  various  exertions  to  see  it,  such  as 
climbing  the  foremast,  but  did  not  succeed  until  about  one 
o'clock,  when  they  were  favoured  by  a  break  in  the  hills. 
Although  we  had  daylight  the  whole  twenty-four  hours, 
travellers  do  not  consider  that  their  duty  is  fulfilled  unless 
they  see  the  sun  itself,  exactly  at  midnight.  In  the  morn- 
ing, we  touched  at  Throndenaes,  on  the  northern  side  of 
Hindoe,  a  beautiful  bay  with  green  and  wooded  shores,  and 
then,  leaving  the  Lofodens  behind  us,  entered  the  archipel- 
ago of  large  islands  which  lines  the  coast  of  Finmark. 
Though  built  on  the  same  grand  and  imposing  scale  as  the 
Lofodens,  these  islands  are  somewhat  less  jagged  and  ab- 
rupt in  their  forms,  and  exhibit  a  much  more  luxuriant  veg- 
etation. In  fact,  after  leaving  the  Namsen  Fjord,  now 
Dronthiem,  one  sees  very  little  timber  until  he  reaches  th< 
oarallel  of  69°.  The  long  straits  between  Senjen  and 
Q,valo  and  the  mainland  are  covered  with  forests  of  bitch 
and  turfy  slopes  greener  than  England  has  ever  shown.  ^1 


288  NORTH  I'RX   TRAVEL 

the  same  time  the  snow  level  was  not  more  than  5JO  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  broad  patches  lay  melt.ng  on  all  the 
lower  hills.  This  abundance  of  snow  seems  a  singular  in^ 
congruity,  when  you  look  upon  the  warm  summer  sky  and 
the  dark,  mellow,  juicy  green  of  the  shores.  One  fancies 
that  he  is  either  sailing  upon  some  lofty  inland  lake,  or  that 
the  ocean-level  in  these  latitudes  must  be  many  thousand 
feet  higher  than  in  the  temperate  zone.  He  cannot  believe 
that  he  is  on  the  same  platform  with  Sicily  and  Ceylon. 

After  a  trip  up  the  magnificent  Maans  Fjord,  and  the 
sight  of  some  sea-green  glaciers,  we  approached  Tromsoe, 
the  capital  of  Finmark.  This  is  a  town  of  nearly  3001)  in- 
habitants, on  a  small  island  in  the  strait  between  Qvalo  and 
the  mainland.  It  was  just  midnight  when  we  dropped  an- 
chor, but,  although  the  sun  was  hidden  by  a  range  of  snowy 
hills  in  the  north,  the  daylight  was  almost  perfect.  I  im- 
mediately commenced  making  a  sketch  of  the  harbour,  with 
its  fleet  of  coasting  vessels.  Some  Russian  craft  from  Arch- 
angel,  and  a  Norwegian  cutter  carrying  six  guns,  were  also 
it  anchor  before  the  town.  Our  French  traveller,  after 
amusing  himself  with  the  idea  of  my  commencing  a  picture 
at  sunset  and  finishing  it  at  sunrise,  started  for  a  morning 
ramble  over  the  hills  Boats  swarmed  around  the  steamer 
the  coal-lighters  came  off,  our  crew  commenced  their  work, 
and  when  the  sun's  disc  appeared,  before  one  o'clock,  there 
wia  another  day  inaugurated.  The  night  had  vanished 
mysteriously,  no  one  could  tell  how. 


WINMARK    AND   HAMMERFEST  28$ 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

FINMARK    AND    HAMMERFEST. 

THE  steamer  lay  at  Troms5e  all  day,  affording  us  an 
opportunity  to  visit  an  encampment  of  Lapps  in  Tromsdal, 
about  four  miles  to  the  eastward.  So  far  as  the  Lapps  were 
•Concerned,  I  had  seen  enough  of  them:  but  I  joined  the  party 
for  the  sake  of  the  northern  summer.  The  captain  was  kind 
enough  to  despatch  a  messenger  to  the  Lapps,  immediately 
on  our  arrival,  that  their  herd  of  reindeer,  pasturing  on  the 
mountains,  might  be  driven  down  for  our  edification,  and 
also  exerted  himself  to  procure  a  horse  for  the  American 
lady.  The  horse  came,  in  due  time,  but  a  side  saddle  is  an 
article  unknown  in  the  arctic  regions,  and  the  lady  was 
obliged  to  trust  herself  to  a  man's  saddle  and  the  guidance 
}f  a  Norseman  of  the  most  remarkable  health,  strength,  and 
stupidity. 

Our  path  led  up  a  deep  valley,  shut  in  by  overhanging 
cliffs,  and  blocked  up  at  the  eastern  end  by  the  huge  mass  of 
the  fjeld.  The  streams,  poured  down  the  crags  from  their 
snowy  reservoirs,  spread  themselves  over  the  steep  side  oi 
the  hill,  making  a  succession  of  quagmires,  over  which  w< 
were  obliged  to  spring  and  scramble  in  break-neck  style 


290  XORTIIKRX  TRAVKL. 

The  sun  was  intensely  hot  in  the  enclosed  valley,  and  wt 
found  the  shade  of  the  birchen  groves  very  grateful.     Sc  m*1 
of  the  trees  grew  to  a  height  of  forty  feet,  with  trunks  the 
thickness  of  a  man's  body.     There  were  also  ash  and  aldei 
trees,  of  smaller  size,  and   a  profusion  of  brilliant  wild 
flowers.     The  little  multeberry  was  in  blossom  ;  the  ranun 
culus,  the  globe-flower,  the  purple  geranium,  the  heath,  and 
the  blue  forget-me-not  spangled  the  ground,  and  on  every 
hillock   the  young  ferns   unrolled   their   aromatic  scrolls 
written  with  wonderful  fables  of  the  southern  spring.     F->r 
it  was  only  spring  here,  or  rather  the  very  beginning  of 
summer.     The  earth  had  only  become  warm  enough  to  con- 
ceive and  bring  forth  flowers,  and  she  was  now  making  the 
most  of  the  little  maternity  vouchsafed  to  her.     The  air  was 
full  of  winged  insects,  darting  hither  and  thither  in  aston- 
ishment at  finding  themselves  alive;  the  herbage  seemed  to 
be  visibly  growing  under  your  eyes ;  even  the  wild  shapes  of 
the  trees  wcpr  expressive  of  haste,  lest  the  winter  might  come 
on  them  unbares;  and  I  noticed  that  the  year's  growth  had 
been  shot  o'lt  at  once,  so  that  the  young  sprays  miirht  have 
time  to  harden  and  to  protect  the  next  year's  buds.     There 
was   no  Irish,  rollicking  out-burst  of  foliage,  no  mellow, 
epicurean  languor  of  the  woods,  no  easy  unfolding  of  leaf  on 
leaf,  as  in  the  long  security  of  our  summers;  but  everywhere 
a  feverish  hurry  on  the  part  of  nature  to  do  something,  even 
if  it  should  only  be  half  done      And  above  the  valley,  behind 
its  mural  ramparts,  glowered  the  cold  white  snows,  which 
had  withdrawn  f«>r  a  little  while,  but  lay  in  wait,  ready  to 
spring   down   as  soon  as   the  protecting  sunshine  should 
fail. 


AND    HA.MMK11FKST. 


Tlie  lady  had  one  harmless  tumble  into  the  mud,  and  we 
were  all  prett)  well  fatigued  with  our  rough  \valk,  when  we 
reached  the  Lapp  encampment  It  consisted  only  of  twc 
families,  who  lived  in  their  characteristic  gammes,  or  hute 
of  earth,  which  serve  them  also  for  winter  dwellings.  These 
burrows  were  thrown  up  on  a  grassy  meadow,  beside  a  rapid 
stream  which  came  down  from  the  fjeld;  and  at  a  little  dis- 
tance were  two  folds,  or  cwrrals  for  their  reindeer,  fenced 
with  pickets  slanting  outward.  A  number  of  brown-haired, 
tailless  dogs,  so  much  resembling  bear-cubs  that  at  first  sight 
we  took  them  for  such,  were  playing  about  the  doors.  A 
middle-aged  Lapp,  with  two  women  and  three  or  four  chil- 
dren, were  the  inmates.  They  scented  profit,  and  received 
ted  in  a  friendly  way,  allowing  the  curious  strangers  to  go  in 
and  out  at  pleasure,  to  tease  the  dogs,  drink  the  reindeer 
milk,  inspect  the  children,  rock  the  baby,  and  buy  horn 
spoons  to  the  extent  of  their  desire.  They  were  smaller  than 
the  Lapps  of  Kautokeino  —  or  perhaps  the  latter  appeared 
larger  in  their  winter  dresses  —  and  astonishingly  dirty. 
Their  appearance  is  much  more  disgusting  in  summer  than 
in  winter,  when  the  snow,  to  a  certain  extent,  purifies  every- 
thing. After  waiting  an  hour  or  more,  the  herd  appeared 
descending  the  fjeld,  and  driven  toward  the  fold  by  two 
young  1  ,apps,  assisted  by  their  dogs.  There  were  about  four 
hundred  in  all,  nearly  one-third  being  calves.  Their  hoarse 
bleating  and  the  cracking  noise  made  by  their  knee-joints, 
as  i  hey  crowded  together  into  a  dense  mass  of  grey,  mossy 
'jacks,  made  a  very  peculiar  sound  :  and  this  combined  with 
their  ragged  look,  from  the  process  of  shedding  their  coat; 


292  NORTH KRN   TRAVEL. 

of  hair,  did  not  very  favourably  impress  those  of  our  partj 
who  saw  them  for  the  first  time.  The  old  Lapp  and  his 
boy,  a  strapping  fellow  of  fifteen,  with  a  ruddy,  olive  com- 
plexion and  almost  Chinese  features,  caught  a  number  of  the 
cows  with  lassos,  and  proceeded  to  wean  the  young  deer  by 
anointing  the  mothers'  dugs  with  cow-dung,  which  they 
carried  in  pails  slung  over  their  shoulders.  In  this  delight- 
ful occupation  we  left  them,  and  returned  to  Troiiisoe. 

As  we  crossed  the  mouth  of  the  Ulvsfjord,  that  evening 
we  had  an  open  sea  horizon  toward  the  north,  a  clear  sky, 
and  so  much  sunshine  at  eleven  o'clock  that  it  was  evident 
the  Polar  day  had  dawned  upon  us  at  last  The  illumina- 
tion of  the  shores  was  unearthly  in  its  glory,  and  the  won- 
derful effects  of  the  orange  sunlight,  playing  upon  the  dark 
hues  of  the  island  cliffs,  can  neither  be  told  nor  painted, 
The  sun  hung  low  between  Fugl5e,  rising  like  a  double 
dome  from  the  sea,  and  the  tall  mountains  of  Arnoe,  both  of 
which  islands  resembled  immense  masses  of  transparent  pur- 
ple glass,  gradually  melting  into  crimson  fire  at  their  bases. 
The  glassy,  leaden-coloured  sea  was  powdered  with  a  golden 
bloom,  and  the  tremendous  precipices  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Lyngen  Fjord,  behind  us,  were  steeped  in  a  dark  red,  mellow 
flush,  and  touched  with  pencillings  of  pure,  rose-coloured 
light,  until  their  naked  ribs  seemed  to  be  clothed  in  imperial 
velvet.  As  we  turned  into  the  Fjord  and  ran  southward 
along  their  bases,  a  waterfall,  struck  by  the  sun,  fell  in  fiery 
Orange  foam  down  the  red  walls,  and  the  blue  ice-pillars  oi 
a  beautiful  glacier  filled  up  the  ravine  beyond  it.  We  were 
all  on  deck,  and  all  faces,  excited  by  the  divine  splendour  , 


FIXMARK  AND  HAMMERFEST.  293 

the  scene,  and  tinged  by  the  same  wonderful  aureole,  shont 
as  if  transfigured.  In  my  whole  life  I  have  never  seen  a 
spectacle  so  unearthly  beautiful. 

Our  course  brought  the  sun  rapidly  toward  the  ruby 
cliffs  of  Arn5e,  and  it  was  evident  that  he  would  soon  bt 
hidden  from  sight.  It  was  not  yet  half-past  eleven,  and  an 
enthusiastic  passenger  begged  the  captain  to  stop  the  vessel 
until  midnight.  "  Why,"  said  the  latter,  "  it  is  midnight 
now,  or  very  near  it;  you  have  Drontheim  time,  which  ia 
almost  forty  minutes  in  arrears."  True  enough,  the  real 
time  lacked  but  five  minutes  of  midnight,  and  those  of  us 
who  had  sharp  eyes  and  strong  imaginations  saw  the  sun 
make  his  last  dip  and  rise  a  little,  before  he  vanished  in  a 
blaze  of  glory  behind  Arnoe.  I  turned  away  with  my  eyea 
full  oT  dazzling  spheres  of  crimson  and  gold,  which  danced 
before  me  wherever  I  looked,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before 
they  were  blotted  out  by  the  semi-oblivion  of  a  daylight 
sleep. 

The  next  morning  found  us  at  the  entrance  of  the  long 
Alten  Fjord.  Here  the  gashed,  hacked,  split,  scarred  and 
shattered  character  of  the  mountains  ceases,  and  they  sudden- 
ly assume  a  long,  rolling  outline,  full  of  bold  features,  but 
less  wild  and  fantastic.  On  the  southern  side  of,  the  fjord 
many  of  them  are  clothed  with  birch  and  fir  to  the  height  of 
a  thousand  feet.  The  valleys  here  are  cultivated  to  some 
extent,  and  produce,  in  good  seasons,  tolerable  crops  of  po- 
tatoes, barley,  and  buckwheat.  This  is  above  lat  70°,  OT 
parallel  with  the  northern  part  of  Greenland,  and  conse 
quently  the  highest  cultivated  land  in  the  world.  In  the 
galley  of  the  Alten  River,  the  Scotch  fir  sometimes  reaches 


<>94  NOR!  HF.RN   TRAVl'.L. 

a  height  of  seventy  or  eighty  feet.  This  district  is  called 
the  Paradise  of  Finmark,  and  no  doubt  floats  in  the  imagi- 
aations  of  the  setters  on  MagcrSe  and  the  dreary  Porsangei 
Fjord,  as  Andalusia  and  Syria  float  in  ours,  [t  is  well  thai 
human  bliss  is  so  relative  in  its  character. 

At  Talvik,  a  cheerful  village  with  a  very  neat,  prett\ 
•;hurch,  who  should  come  on  board  but  Pastor  Hvoslef,  our 
Kautokeino  friend  of  the  last  winter !  He  had  been  madr 
one  of  a  Government  Commission  of  four,  appointed  to  in- 
vestigate and  report  upon  the  dissensions  between  thr 
nomadic  Lapps  and  those  who  have  settled  habitations.  A 
better  person  could  not  have  been  chosen  than  this  good 
man,  who  has  the  welfare  of  the  Lapps  truly  at  heart,  and 
in  whose  sincerity  every  one  in  the  North  confides. 

We  had  on  board  Mr.  Thomas,  the  superintendent  of  the 
copper  works  at  Kaafjord,  who  had  just  resigned  his  seat  in 
the  Storthing  and  given  up  his  situation  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  charge  of  some  mines  at  Copiapo,  in  Chili.  Mr 
Thomas  is  an  Englishman,  who  has  been  for  twenty  years 
past  one  of  the  leading  men  of  Finmark,  and  no  other  man, 
[  venture  to  say,  has  done  more  to  improve  and  enlighten 
that  neglected  province.  His  loss  will  not  be  easily  re- 
placM.  At  Talvik,  his  wife,  a  pleasant,  intelligent  Norwe- 
gian lady  came  on  board ;  and,  as  we  passed  the  rocky  por- 
tals guarding  the  entrance  to  the  little  harbour  of  Kaafjord, 
a  gun,  planted  on  a  miniature  battery  above  the  landing- 
place,  pealed  forth  a  salute  of  welcome.  I  could  partly  un- 
derstand Mr.  Thomas's  long  residence  in  those  regions,  when 
I  saw  what  a  wild,  picturesque  spot  he  had  chosen  for  his 
home.  The  cavernous  entrances  to  the  copper  mines  yawn 


K1NMARK   AND   IIAMMKUFUST.  295 

?d  in  the  face  of  the  cliff  above  the  outer  bay  below,  on  the 
water's  edge,  stood  the  smelting  works,  sunoundcd  by  la- 
bourers' cottages;  a  graceful  white  church  crowned  a  rocky 
headland  a  little  further  on  ;  and  beyond,  above  a  green 
lawn,  decked  with  a  few  scattering  birches,  stood  a  comforta- 
ble mansion,  with  a  garden  in  the  rear.  The  flag  of  Norway 
and  the  cross  of  St.  George  floated  from  separate  staffs  on 
the  lawn.  There  were  a  number  of  houses,  surrounded  with 
potato-fields  on  the  slope  stretching1  around  the  bay,  and  an 
opening  of  the  hills  at  its  head  gave  us  a  glimpse  of  the  fir 
forests  of  the  inland  valleys.  On  such  a  cloudless  day  aa 
we  had,  it  was  a  cheerful  and  home-like  spot- 

We  took  a  friendly  leave  of  Mr.  Thomas  and  departed, 
the  little  battery  giving  us  I  don't  know  how  many  three- 
gun  salutes  as  we  moved  off.  A  number  of  whales  spouted 
on  all  sides  of  us  as  we  crossed  the  head  of  the  fjord  to  Bose- 
kop,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Alten  River.  This  is  a  little 
village  on  a  bare  rocky  headland,  which  completely  shuts 
Dut  from  view  the  rich  valley  of  the  Alten,  about  which  the 
Finmarkers  speak  with  so  much  enthusiasm.  "  Ah,  you 
should  see  the  farms  on  the  Alten,"  say  they  ;  "  there  we 
have  large  houses,  fields,  useadows,  cattle,  and  the  finest 
timber."  This  is  Altengaard,  familiar  to  all  the  readers  oi 
Mflgge's  "  Afraja."  The  &aard,  however,  is  a  single  large 
estate,  and  not  a  name  applied  to  the  whole  district,  as  those 
unfamiliar  with  Norsk  nomenclature  might  suppose.  Here 
the  Catholics  have  established  a  mission — ostensibly  a  mis- 
nonary  boarding-house,  for  the  purpose  of  acclimating  arcti. 
apostles;  but  the  people,  who  regard  it  with  the  greatest 
suspicion  and  distrust,  suspect  that  the  ultimate  object  is  th' 


296  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

overthrow  of  their  inherited,  venerated,  and  deeply-rooted 
Lutheran  faith.  At  Bosekop  we  lost  Pastor  Hvoslef,  and 
took  on  board  the  chief  of  the  mission,  the  Catholic  Bishop 
of  the  Arctic  Zone — for  I  believe  his  diocese  includes  Green- 
land, Spitsbergen,  and  Polar  America.  Here  is  a  Gal  muck 
Tartar,  thought  I,  as  a  short,  strongly-built  man,  with  sal- 
low coaiplexion,  deep-set  eyes,  broad  nostrils,  heavy  rnoutli, 
pointed  chin,  and  high  cheek-bones,  stepped  on  board ;  but 
he  proved  to  be  a  Russian  baron,  whose  conversion  cost  him 
his  estates.  He  had  a  massive  head,  however,  in  which  in- 
tellect predominated,  and  his  thoroughly  polished  manners 
went  far  to  counteract  the  effect  of  one  of  the  most  unpre- 
possessing countenances  I  ever  saw. 

M.  Gay,  who  had  known  the  bishop  at  Paris,  at  once  en 
tered  into  conversation  with  him.  A  short  time  afterwards, 
my  attention  was  drawn  to  the  spot  where  they  stood  by 
loud  and  angry  exclamations.  Two  of  our  Norwegian 
savans  stood  before  the  bishop,  and  one  of  them,  with  a 
face  white  with  rage,  was  furiously  vociferating :  "  It  is  not 
true!  it  is  not  true  !  Norway  is  a  free  country  !"  "  In  this 
respect,  it  is  not  free,"  answered  the  bishop,  with  more  cool- 
ness than  I  thought  he  could  have  shown,  under  such  circum- 
stances :  "  You  know  very  well  that  no  one  can  hold  office 
except  those  who  belong  to  your  State  Church — neither  a 
Catholic,  nor  a  Methodist,  nor  a  Quaker  :  whereas  in  France, 
as  1  have  said,  a  Protestant  may  even  become  a  minister  ol 
the  Government."  "  But  we  do  not  believe  in  the  Catholic 
faith : — we  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  it !"  screamed  the 
Norwegian.  "  We  are  not  discussing  our  creeds,"  answered 
the  bishop  •  "  I  say  that,  though  Norway  is  a  free  com-»ry, 


FIXMARK    AND    HAMMKRFEST. 


politically,  it  does  not  secure  equal  rights  to  all  its  citizens 
and  so  far  as  the  toleration  of  religious  beliefs  is  concerned 
it  is  behind  most  other  countries  of  Europe."  He  there 
upon  retreated  tc  the  cabin,  for  a  crowd  had  gathered  about 
the  disputants,  and  the  deck-passengers  pressing  aft,  seomed 
more  than  usually  excited  by  what  was  going  on.  The 
Norwegian  shaking  with  fury,  hissed  through  his  set  teeth: 
4  How  dare  he  come  here  to  insult  our  national  feeling  !'' 
Yes,  but  every  word  was  true  ;  and  the  scene  was  only  ano- 
ther illustration  of  the  intense  vanity  of  the  Norwegians  in 
regard  to  their  country.  Woe  to  the  man  who  says  a  word 
against  Norway,  though  he  say  nothing  but  what  everybody 
knows  to  be  true!  So  long  as  yon  praise  everything  —  scen- 
ery, people,  climate,  institutions,  and  customs  —  or  keep 
silent  where  you  cannot  praise,  you  have  the  most  genial 
conversation  ;  but  drop  a  word  of  honest  dissent  or  censure, 
and  you  will  see  how  quickly  every  one  draws  back  into  hia 
shell.  There  are  parts  of  our  own  country  where  a  foreigner 
might  make  the  same  observation.  Let  a  Norwegian  travel 
in  the  Southern  States,  and  dare  to  say  a  word  in  objection 
to  slavery  ! 

There  is  nothing  of  interest  between  Alten  and  Hammer- 
fest,  except  the  old  sea-margins  on  the  cliffs  and  a  small 
glacier  on  the  island  of  Seiland.  The  coast  is  dismally 
bleak  and  barren,  \\haleswere  very  abundant;  we  some- 
times saw  a  dozen  spouting  at  one  time.  They  were  of  the 
hump-backed  species,  and  of  only  moderate  size;  yet  the 
fishery  would  doubtless  pay  very  well,  if  the  natives  had 
enterprise  enough  to  undertake  it.  I  believe,  however,  there 
i&  no  whale  fishery  oil  the  whole  Norwegian  coast.  The 


NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 


desolate  hills  of  U,valo  surmounted  by  the  pointed  peak  ol 
the  Tjuve  Fjeld,  or  "  Thief  Mountain,"  —  so  called  because 
it  steals  so  much  of  the  winter  sunshine,  —  announced  oui 
approach  to  Hammerfcst,  and  towards  nine  o'clock  in  the 
evening  we  were  at  anchor  in  the  little  harbour.  The  SHIP 
mer  trade  had  just  opened,  and  forty  Russian  vessels,  which 
had  arrived  from  the  White  Sea  during  the  previous  week 
or  two,  lay  crowded  before  the  large  fish  warehouses  built 
along  the  water.  They  were  all  three-masted  schooners  the 
main  and  mizen  masts  set  close  together,  and  with  very 
neavy,  square  hulls.  Strong  Muscovite  faces,  adorned  with 
magnificent  beards,  stared  at  us  from  the  decks,  and  a  jab- 
ber of  Russian,  Finnish.  Lapp,  and  Norwegian,  came  from 
the  rough  boats  crowding  about  our  gangways.  The  north 
wind,  blowing  to  us  off'  the  land,  was  filled  with  the  perfume 
of  dried  codfish,  train  oil,  and  burning  whale-"  scraps,"  with 
which,  as  we  soon  found,  the  whole  place  is  thoroughly  satu- 
rated. 

There  is  one  hotel  in  the  place,  containing  half  a  dozen 
chambers  of  the  size  of  a  state-room.  We  secured  quarters 
here  with  a  great  deal  of  difficulty,  owing  to  slowness  of 
comprehension  on  the  part  of  an  old  lady  who  had  charge 
of  the  house.  The  other  American,  who  at  first  took  r>oms 
for  himself  and  wife,  gave  them  up  again  very  prudently; 
for  the  noises  of  the  billiard-room  penetrated  through  the 
thin  wooden  partitions,  and  my  bed,  at  least,  had  been  slept 
in  by  one  of  the  codfish  aristocracy,  for  the  salty  odour  was 
ao  pungent  that  it  kept  me  awake  for  a  long  time.  With 
our  fare,  we  had  less  reason  to  complain.  Fresh  salmon. 
wrctic  ptarmigan,  and  reindeer's  tongue  were  delicacies  which 


AND    HAMMEKFEST.  299 

would  have  delighted  any  palate,  and  the  wine  had  really 
Been  Bordeaux,  although  rainy  weather  had  evidently  pre- 
vailed during  the  voyage  thence  to  Hammerfest.  The  town 
lies  in  a  deep  bight,  inclosed  by  precipitous  cliffs,  on  tl.« 
south- western  side  of  the  island,  whence  the  sun,  by  thi 
time  long  past  his  midsummer  altitude,  was  not  visible  at 
midnight.  Those  of  our  passengers  who  intended  returning 
by  the  Nnrdkajj  climbed  the  hills  to  get  another  view  of 
him,  but  unfortunately  went  upon  the  wrong  summit,  so 
that  they  did  not  see  him  after  all.  I  was  so  fatigued,  from 
the  imperfect  sleep  of  the  sunshiny  nights  and  the  crowd  of 
new  and  exciting  impressions  which  the  voyage  had  given 
me,  that  I  went  to  bed ;  hut  my  friend  sat  uj.  until  long 
past  midnight,  writing,  with  curtains  drawn. 


3(X)  NORTHERN    TKAVEU 


CHAPTER   XXY1. 

THE    MIDNIGHT    SUN. 

MOST  cf  the  travellers  who  push  as  far  north  as  Hani 
merfest  content  themselves  with  one  experience  of  the  mid- 
night sun,  and  return  with  the  same  steamer  to  Drontheira 
A  few  extend  their  journey  to  the  North  Cape.  and.  once  a 
year,  on  an  average,  perhaps,  some  one  is  adventurous 
enough  to  strike  across  Lapland  to  Tornea.  The  steamers, 
nevertheless,  pass  the  North  Cape,  and  during  the  summer 
make  weekly  trips  to  the  Varanger  Fjord,  the  extreme 
eastern  limit  of  the  Norwegian  territory.  We  were  divided 
in  opinion  whether  to  devote  our  week  of  sunshine  to  the 
North  Cape,  or  to  make  the  entire  trip  and  see  something 
of  the  northern  coast  of  Europe,  but  finally  decided  that  the 
latter,  on  the  whole,  as  being  unfamiliar  ground,  would  be 
most  interesting.  The  screw-steamer  Gyller  (one  of  Odin's 
horses)  was  lying  in  the  harbour  when  we  arrived,  and  wa* 
to  leave  in  the  course  of  the  next  night ;  so  we  lost  no  time 
in  securing  places,  as  she  had  but  a  ^iiiall  cabin  and  no 
state-rooms.  Nevertheless,  we  found  her  very  comfortable, 
and  in  every  re-pec/  far  superior  to  the  English  vessels 
which  ply  between  Hull  and  Christiania.  Our  fellow 


THK   MIDNIGHT   SUN.  301 

travellers  were  all  returning  to  Drontheim — except  three 
Norwegian  officers  on  their  way  to  make  an  official  inspection 
of  the  fortress  of  YVardSlmus — and  the  lust  we  saw  of  them 
was  their  return,  an  hour  past  midnight,  from  making  a 
Second  attempt  to  see  the  sun  from  the  hills.  The  night 
was  somewhat  obscured,  and  I  doubt  if  they  were  successful. 
When  I  went  on  deck  on  the  morning  after  our  depar- 
ture, we  were  in  the  narrow  strait  between  the  island  of 
Mager5e,  the  northern  extremity  of  which  forms  the  North 
Cape,  and  the  mainland.  On  either  side,  the  shores  of  bare 
bleak  rock,  spotted  with  patches  of  moss  and  stunted  grass, 
rose  precipitously  from  the  water,  the  snow  tilling  up  their 
ravines  from  the  summit  to  the  sea.  Not  a  tree  nor  a 
shrub,  nor  a  sign  of  human  habitation  was  visible;  there 
was  no  fisher's  sail  on  the  lonely  waters,  and  only  the  cries 
of  some  sea-gulls,  wheeling  about  the  cliffs,  broke  the 
silence.  As  the  strait  opened  to  the  eastward,  a  boat  ap- 
peared, beating  into  Kjelvik,  on  the  south-eastern  corner 
of  the  island ;  but  the  place  itself  was  concealed  from  us 
by  an  intervening  cape.  This  is  the  spot  which  Von  Buch 
visited  in  the  summer  of  1807,  just  fifty  years  ago,  and  his 
description  would  be  equally  correct  at  the  present  day. 
Here,  where  the  scurvy  carries  off  half  the  inhabitants, — 
where  pastors  coming  from  Southern  -Norway  die  within  a 
year, — where  no  trees  grow,  no  vegetables  come  to  maturity 
and  gales  from  every  quarter  of  the  Icy  Sea  beat  the  last 
faint  life  out  of  nature,  men  will  still  persist  in  living,  in 
apparent  defiance  of  all  natuial  laws.  Yet  they  have  at 
least  an  excuse  for  it,  in  the  miraculous  provision  which 

Providence  has  made  for  their  food  and  fuel.     The  sea  and 
14 


302  NORTH KKN    TRAVKI,. 

fjords  are  alive  with  fish,  which  are  not  only  a  means  ol 
existence  but  of  profit  to  them,  while  the  wonderful  Gulf 
Stream,  which  crosses  5000  miles  of  the  Atlantic  to  die 
upon  this  Ultima  Thule  in  a  last  struggle  with  the  Polai 
Sea,  casts  up  the  spoils  of  tropical  forests  to  feed  their  fires 
Think  of  arctic  fishers  burning  upon  their  hearths  thf 
paltt..i  of  Hayti,  the  mahogany  of  Honduras,  and  the  pre- 
cious woods  of  the  Amazon  and  the  Orinoco ! 

In  the  spring  months,  there  are  on  an  average  800  vessel.- 
on  the  northern  coast,  between  the  North  Cape  and  Vadg-3, 
with  a  fishing  population  of  5000  men  on  board,  whose 
average  gains,  even  at  the  scanty  prices  they  receive  amount 
to  $30  apiece,  making  a  total  yield  of  $150,000.  It  is  only 
within  a  very  few  years  that  the  Norwegian  Government 
has  paid  any  attention  to  this  far  corner  of  the  peninsula. 
At  present,  considering  the  slender  population,  the  means  of 
communication  are  well  kept  up  during  eight  months  in  the 
year,  and  the  result  is  an  increase  (perceptible  to  an  old 
resident,  no  doubt)  in  the  activity  and  prosperity  of  the 
country. 

On  issuing  from  the  strait,  we  turned  southward  into  the 
great  Porsanger  Fjord,  which  stretches  nearly  a  hundred 
miles  into  the  heart  of  Lapland,  dividing  Western  from 
Eastern  Finmark.  Its  shores  are  high  monotonous  hills, 
half  covered  with  snow,  and  barren  of  vegetation  except 
patches  of  grass  and  moss.  If  once  wooded,  like  the  hills  of 
the  Alten  Fjord,  the  trees  have  long  since  disappeared,  and 
oow  nothing  can  be  more  bleak  and  desolate.  The  wind 
blew  violently  from  the  east,  gradually  lifting  a  veil  of  grey 
clouds  from  the  cold  pale  sky,  and  our  slow  little  steamer 


THE    MIDNIGIIT    Sl^N. 


mlh  jib  and  fore  topsail  set,  made  somewhat  better  pro- 
gress. Toward  evening  (if  there  is  such  a  time  in  the  arc 
tic  summer),  we  reached  Kistrand,  the  principal  settle 
nient  on  the  fjord.  It  has  eight  or  nine  houses.  scattered 
klong  a  gentle  slope  a  mile  in  length,  and  a  little  red 
church,  but  neither  gardens,  fields,  nor  potato  patches.  A 
strip  of  grazing  ground  before  the  principal  house  wasyel 
low  with  dandelions,  the  slope  behind  showed  patches  el 
brownish  green  grass,  and  above  this  melancholy  attempt 
at  summer  stretched  the  cold,  grey,  snow-streaked  ridge 
of  the  hill.  Two  boats,  manned  by  sea-Lapps,  with  square 
blue  caps,  and  long  ragged  locks  of  yellow  hair  fluttering 
in  the  wind,  brought  oil'  the  only  passenger  and  the  mails, 
and  we  put  about  for  the  mouth  of  the  fjord. 

Running  along  under  the  eastern  shore,  we  exchanged 
the  dreadful  monotony  through  which  we  had  been  sailing 
for  more  rugged  and  picturesque  scenery.  Before  us  rose  a 
wall  of  dark  cliff,  from  five  to  six  hundred  feet  in  height, 
gaping  here  and  there  with  sharp  clefts  or  gashes,  as  if  it 
had  cracked  in  cooling,  after  the  primeval  tires.  The  sum 
unit  of  these  cliffs  was  the  average  level  of  the  country  ;  and 
this  peculiarity,  I  found,  applies  to  all  the  northern  shore 
of  Finmark,  distinguishing  the  forms  of  the  capes  and 
islands  from  those  about  Alten  and  Hammerfest,  which, 
again,  are  quite  different  from  those  of  the  Lofodens.  u  On 
returning  from  Spitsbergen,"  said  8  Hammerfest  merchant 
lo  me,  UI  do  not  need  to  look  at  chart  or  compass,  when 
I  get  sight  of  the  coast  ;  I  know,  from  the  formation  of  the 
cliffs,  exactly  where  I  am."  There  is  some  general  resem- 
blance to  the  chalk  bluffs  of  England,  especially  abon' 


304  NORTHERN-    TRAVEL. 

Beachy  Head,  but  the  rock  here  appears  to  be  mica -slate. 
disposed  in  thin,  vertical  strata,  with  many  violent  trans 
?erse  breaks. 

As  we  approached  the  end  of  the  promontory  \vhicb 
livides  the  Porsanger  from  the  Laxe  Fjord,  the  rocks  be- 
came more  abrupt  and  violently  shattered.  Huge  masses, 
fallen  from  the  summit,  lined  the  base  of  the  precipice, 
which  was  hollowed  into  cavernous  arches,  the  home  oi 
myriads  of  sea-gulls.  The  rock  of  Svaerholtklub,  off  the 
point,  resembled  a  massive  fortress  in  ruins.  Its  walls  ot 
smooth  masonry  rested  on  three  enormous  vaults,  the  piers 
of  which  were  buttressed  with  slanting  piles  of  rocky  frag- 
ments. The  ramparts,  crenelated  in  some  places,  had  moul- 
dered away  in  others,  and  one  fancied  he  saw  in  the  rents 
and  scars  of  the  giant  pile  the  marks  of  the  shot  and  shell 
which  had  wrought  its  ruin.  Thousands  of  white  gulls, 
gone  to  their  nightly  roost,  rested  on  every  ledge  and  cornice 
of  the  rock ;  but  preparations  were  already  made  to  disturb 
their  slumbers.  The  steamer's  cannon  was  directed  towards 
the  largest  vault,  and  discharged..  The  fortress  shook  with 
the  crashing  reverberation ;  "  then  rose  a  shriek,  as  of  a  city 
sacked" — a  wild,  piercing,  maddening,  myriad-tongued  cry, 
which  still  rings  in  my  ears.  With  the  cry.  came  a  rushing 
sound,  as  of  a  tempest  among  the  woods;  a  white  cloud 
burst  out  of  the  hollow  arch-way,  like  the  smoke  of  an 
Answering  shot,  and,  in  the  space  of  a  second,  the  air  was 
filled  with  birds,  thicker  than  autumn  leaves,  and  rang  with 
one  universal,  clanging  shriek.  A  second  shot,  followed  b)> 
a  second  outcry  and  an  answering  discharge  from  the  othei 
caverns,  almost  darkened  the  sky.  The  whirring,  rustling 


THE  MIDNIGHT  SUN.  30fi 

and  screaming,  as  the  birds  circled  overhead,  or  dropped  like 
thick  scurries  of  snow-flakes  on  the  water,  was  truly  awful. 
There  could  not  have  been  less  than  fifty  thousand  in  the 
air  at  one  time,  while  as  many  more  clung  to  the  face  of  the 
rock,  or  screamed  from  the  depth  of  the  vaults.  Such  ao 
indignation  meeting  I  never  attended  before ;  but,  like  many 
others  I  have  heard  of,  the  time  for  action  was  passed  before 
they  had  decided  what  to  do. 

It  was  now  eleven  o'clock,  and  Svasrholt  glowed  in  fiery 
oronze  lustre  as  we  rounded  it,  the  eddies  of  returning  birds 
gleaming  golden  in  the  nocturnal  sun,  like  drifts  of  beech 
leaves  in  the  October  air  Far  to  the  north,  the  sun  lay  in 
a  bed  of  saffron  light  over  the  clear  horizon  of  the  Arctic 
Ocean  A  few  bars  of  dazzling  orange  cloud  floated  above 
him,  and  still  higher  in  the  sky,  where  the  saffron  melted 
through  delicate  rose-colour  into  blue,  hung  light  wreaths  of 
vapour,  touched  with  pearly,  opaline  flushes  of  pink  and 
golden  grey.  The  sea  was  a  web  of  pale  slate-colour,  shot 
through  and  through  with  threads  of  orange  and  saffron, 
from  the  dance  of  a  myriad  shifting  and  twinkling  ripples. 
The  air  was  filled  and  permeated  with  the  soft,  mysterious 
glow,  and  even  the  very  azure  of  the  southern  sky  seemed  to 
shine  through  a  net  of  golden  gauze.  The  headlands  of  this 
deeply-indented  coast — the  capes  of  the  Laxe'and  Porsanger 
Fjords,  and  of  Mageroe — lay  around  us,  in  different  degrees 
of  distance,  but  all  with  foreheads  touched  with  supernatural 
glory.  Far  to  the  north-east  was  Nordkyn,  the  most  north 
ern  point  of  the  mainland  of  Europe,  gleaming  rosily  and 
faint  in  the  full  beams  of  the  sun.  and  j'ist  as  our  watchee 
denoted  mi  Inight  the  North  Cape  appeared  to  the  westward 


306  SOUTHERN   TRAVEL. 

— a  long  line  of  purple  bluff,  presenting  a  vertical  frcnt  oi 
nine  hundred  feet  in  height  to  the  Polar  Sea.  Midway  be- 
tween those  two  magnificent  headlands  stood  the  Midnight 
Sun,  shining  on  us  with  subdued  fires,  and  with  the  gorgeous 
•••olouring  of  an  hour  for  which  we  have  no  name,  since  it  is 
neither  sunset  .nor  sunrise,  but  the  blended  loveliness  of  both 
— but  shining  at  the  same  moment,  in  the  heat  and  splendour 
of  noonday,  on  the  Pacific  Isles. 

This  was  the  midnight  sun  as  I  had  dreamed  it — as  I  had 
hoped  to  see  it. 

Within  fifteen  minutes  after  midnight,  there  was  a  per- 
ceptible increase  of  altitude,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour 
the  whole  tone  of  the  sky  had  changed,  the  yellow  brighten- 
ing into  orange,  and  the  saffron  melting  into  the  pale  ver- 
milion of  dawn.  Yet  it  was  neither  the  colours,  nor  the 
same  character  of  light  as  we  had  had,  half  an  hour  before 
midnight.  The  difference  was  so  slight  as  scarcely  to  be 
described;  but  it  was  the  difference  between  evening  and 
morning.  The  faintest  transfusion  of  one  prevailing  tint 
into  another  had  changed  the  whole  expression  of  heaven 
and  earth,  and  so  imperceptibly  and  miraculously  that  a 
new  day  was  already  present  to  our  consciousness.  Our 
view  of  the  wild  cliffs  of  Svasrholt,  less  than  two  hours  be- 
fore, belonged  to  yesterday,  though  we  had  stood  on  deck,  in 
full  sunshine,  during  all  the  intervening  time.  Had  the 
ensation  of  a  night  slipped  through  our  brains  in  the 
momentary  winking  of  the  eyes?  Or  was  the  old  routini 
of  consciousness  so  firmly  stereotyped  in  our  natures,  that 
the  view  of  a  morning  waa  sufficient  proof  to  them  of  the 
pre'xistence  of  a  night  ?  Let  those  explain  the  phenomenon 


THE   MIDNIGHT   SON.  30? 

who  can— but  I  found  my  physical  senses  utterly  at  wai 
with  those  mental  perceptions  wherewith  they  should  har- 
monise. The  eye  saw  but  one  unending  day;  the  mind 
notched  the  twenty-four  hours  on  its  calendar,  as  before. 

Before  one  o'clock  we  reached  the  entrance  of  the  Kiol- 
lefjord,  which  in  the  pre-diluvial  times  must  have  been 
a  tremendous  mountain  gorge,  like  that  of  Gondo,  on  the 
Italian  side  of  the  Simplon.  Its  mouth  is  about  half  a  mile 
in  breadth,  and  its  depth  is  not  more  than  a  mile  and  a  half. 
It  is  completely  walled  in  with  sheer  precipices  of  bare  rock, 
from  three  to  five  hundred  feet  in  height,  except  at  the  very 
head,  where  they  subside  into  a  stony  heap,  upon  which  some 
infatuated  mortals  have  built  two  or  three  cabins.  \s  we 
neared  the  southern  headland,  the  face  of  which  was  touched 
with  the  purest  orange  light,  while  its  yawning  fissures  lay 
in  deep-blue  gloom,  a  tall  ruin,  with  shattered  turrets  and 
crumbling  spires,  detached  itself  from  the  mass,  and  stood 
alone  at  the  foot  of  the  precipice.  This  is  the  Fiunkirka, 
or  "  Church  of  the  Lapps,"  well  known  to  all  the  northern 
coasters.  At  first  it  resembles  a  tall  church  with  a  massive 
square  spire ;  but  the  two  parts  separate  again,  and  you  have 
a  crag-perched  castle  of  the  middle-ages,  with  its  watch- 
tower — the  very  counterpart  of  scores  in  Germany — and  a 
quaint  Gothic  chapel  on  the  point  beyond.  The  vertical 
strata  of  the  rock,  worn  into  sharp  points  at  the  top  and 
gradually  broadening  to  the  base,  with  numberless  notched 
ornaments  and  channels  fluted  by  the  rain,  make  the  resem 
lance  marvellous,  when  seen  under  the  proper  effects  of  light 
and  shade.  The  lustre  in  which  we  saw  it  had  the  effect  oi 


308  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

iiichantment.  There  was  a  play  of  colours  upon  it,  such  at 
one  sees  in  illuminated  Moorish  halls,  and  I  am  almost  afraid 
to  say  how  much  I  was  enraptured  by  a  scene  which  has  not 
its  equal  on  the  whole  Norwegian  coast,  yet  of  which  none 
of  us  had  ever  heard  before. 

We  landed  a  single  passenger — a  government  surveyor  ap- 
parently— on  the  heap  of  rocks  beyond,  and  ran  out  under 
the  northern  headland,  which  again  charmed  us  with  a  glory 
peculiarly  its  own.  Here  the  colours  were  a  part  of  the  sub- 
Btance  of  the  rock,  and  the  sun  but  heightened  and  harmon- 
ised their  tones.  The  huge  projecting  masses  of  pale  yel- 
low had  a  mellow  gleam,  like  golden  chalk ;  behind  them 
were  cliffs,  violet  in  shadow ;  broad  strata  of  soft  red,  tipped 
on  the  edges  with  vermilion ;  thinner  layers,  which  shot  up 
vertically  to  the  height  of  four  or  five  hundred  feet,  and 
striped  the  splendid  sea-wall  with  lines  of  bronze,  orange, 
brown,  and  dark  red,  while  great  rents  and  breaks  inter- 
rupted these  marvellous  frescoes  with  their  dashes  of 
uncertain  gloom.  I  have  seen  many  wonderful  aspects  of 
nature,  in  many  lands,  but  rock-pain  ting  such  as  this  I  never 
beheld.  A  part  of  its  effect  may  have  been  owing  to  atmos- 
pheric conditions  which  must  be  rare,  even  in  the  North; 
but,  without  such  embellishments,  I  think  the  sight  of  this 
coast  will  nobly  repay  any  one  for  continuing  his  voyage 
beyond  Hammerfest. 

We  lingered  on  deck,  as  \  oint  after  point  revealed  some 
change  in  the  dazzling  diorama,  uncertain  which  was  finest, 
and  whether  something  still  grander  might  not  be  in  store. 
Bat  at  last  Nordkyn  drew  nigh,  and  at  three  o'clock  the 


IH*.  MIDNH.H]   .si  N  3(JL 

light  became  that  of  day,  white  and  colourless.  The  north- 
east wind  blew  keenly  across  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  we 
were  both  satish'ed  and  fatigued  enough  to  go  to  bed.  Il 
was  the  most  northern  point  of  our  voyage — about  71°  20', 
which  is  further  north  than  I  ever  was  t  efore,  or  ever  wish 
tc  be  again. 
14* 


310 


NORTHERN'    TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE    VARANGER    FJORD. ARCTIC    LIFE. 

WHEN   we  awoke,  after  six  hours'  sleep,  with  curtains 
Jrawn  to  kee;>  out  the  daylight,  our  steamer  was  deep  in 
the  Tana  Fjord,  which  receives  the   waters  of  the  Tana 
River,  the  lagest  Lapland  stream   flowing  into  the  Arctic 
Ocean.  The  greater  part  of  the  day  was  consumed  in  calling  at 
two  settlements  of  three  houses  each,  and  receiving   and 
delivering  mails  of  one  letter,  or  less.     The  shores  of  thig 
fjord  are  steep  hills  of  bare  rock,  covered  with  patches  of 
snow  to  the  water's  edge.     The  riven  walls  of  cliff,  with 
their   wonderful   configuration   and  marvellous  colouring, 
were  left  behind  us,  and  there  was  nothing  of  the  grand  or 
picturesque  to  redeem  the  savage  desolation  of  the  scenery 
The  chill  wind,  blowing  direct  from  Nova  Zembla,  made  us 
shiver,   and  even  the  cabin  saloon  was  uncomfortable  with  • 
out   a  fire.      After   passing   the   most   northern    point   of 
Kurope,  the  coast  falls  away  to  the  south-east,  so  that  on 
the  second  night  we  were  again  in  the  latitude  of  Hammer- 
fest,  bnt  still  within  the  sphere  of  perpetual  sunshine.     Our 
second  night  of  sun  was  not  so  rich  in  colouring  as  the  first, 
yet  we  remained  on  deck  long  enough  to  see  the  orb  rise 


THE   VARANGER  FJORD.— ARCTIC   L'FK.  3H 

again  from  his  lowest  dip,  and  change  evening  into  morning 
by  the  same  incomprehensible  process.  There  was  no  golden 
transfiguration  of  the  dreadful  shore ;  a  wan  lustre  played 
iver  the  rocks — pictures  of  eternal  death — like  a  settled 
pallor  of  despair  on  Nature's  stony  face. 

One  of  the  stations  on  this  coast,  named  Makur,  consisted 
of  a  few  fishermen's  huts,  at  the  bottom  of  a  dismal  rocky 
bight.  There  was  no  grass  to  be  seen,  except  some  tufts 
springing  from  the  earth  with  which  the  roofs  were  covered, 
and  it  was  even  difficult  to  see  where  so  much  earth  had 
been  scraped  together.  The  background  was  a  hopelessly 
barren  hill,  more  than  half  enveloped  in  snow.  And  this 
was  midsummer — and  human  beings  passed  their  lives 
here!  "  Those  people  surely  deserve  to  enter  Paradise 
when  they  die,"  I  remarked  to  my  friend,  "  for  they  live  in 
hell  while  upon  earth.''  "  Not  for  that,"  he  answered,  "  but 
because  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  commit  sin.  They 
cannot  injure  their  neighbours,  for  they  have  none.  They 
cannot  steal,  for  there  is  nothing  to  tempt  them.  They 
cannot  murder,  for  there  are  none  of  the  usual  incentives 
to  hate  and  revenge.  They  have  so  hard  a  struggle  merely 
to  live,  that  they  cannot  fall  into  the  indulgences  of  sense ; 
BO  that  if  there  is  nothing  recorded  in  their  favour,  there  is 
also  nothing  against  them,  and  they  commence  the  next  life 
with  blank  books." 

"  But  what  a  life  !''  I  exclaimed.  "  Men  may  be  happj 
in  poverty,  in  misfortune,  under  persecution,  in  life-long 
disease  even,  so  that  they  are  not  wholly  deprived  of  th<« 
Denial  influences  of  society  and  Nature — but  what  is  there 
tiere?"  "They  know  no  other  world/'  said  he,  "and  thif 


312  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

ignorance  keeps  them  from  being  miserable  They  do  nc 
more  thinking  than  is  necessary  to  make  nets  and  boats, 
catch  fish  and  cook  them,  and  build  their  log-houses. 
Nature  provides  for  their  marrying  and  bringing  up  theii 
•hildren,  and  the  pastor,  whom  they  see  once  in  a  long 
time,  gives  them  their  religion  ready  made."  God  keep 
them  ignorant,  then  !  was  my  involuntary  prayer.  May 
they  never  lose  their  blessed  stupidity,  while  they  are 
chained  to  these  rocks  and  icy  seas !  May  no  dreams  of 
summer  and  verdure,  no  vision  of  happier  social  condi- 
tions, or  of  any  higher  sphere  of  thought  and  action,  flash 
a  painful  light  on  the  dumb-darkness  of  their  lives! 

The  next  day,  we  were  in  the  Varanger  Fjord,  having 
passed  the  fortress  of  Vardohuus  and  landed  our  military 
committee.  The  Norwegian  shore  was  now  low  and  tame, 
but  no  vegetation,  except  a  little  brown  grass,  was  to  be 
seen.  'I  he  Russian  shore,  opposite,  and  some  twenty-five 
or  thirty  miles  distant,  consisted  of  high,  bold  hills,  which, 
»hrough  a  glass,  appeared  to  be  partially  wooded.  The 
Varanger  Fjord,  to  which  so  important  a  political  interest 
has  attached  within  the  last  few  years,  is  about  seventy 
miles  in  depth,  with  a  general  direction  towards  the  south- 
west. The  boundary-line  between  Norwegian  and  Russian 
Finmark  strikes  it  upon  the  southern  side,  about  half-way 
from  the  mouth,  so  that  three-fourths,  or  more,  of  the  waters 
of  the  fjord  belong  to  Norway.  There  is,  however,  a  won- 
derful boundary-line,  in  addition,  drawn  by  Nature  betweeu 
the  alien  waters.  That  last  wave  of  the  Gulf  Stream  which 
washes  tho  North  Cape  and  keeps  the  fjords  of  Finmark 
Dpen  and  unfrozen  the  whole  year  through,  sweeps  east 


THK    VAKAXUKK    FJORI). — ARCTIC    LIFE.  '$13 

ward  along  the  coast,  until  it  reaches  the  head  of  Varangei 
Fjord.  Here  its  power  is  at  last  spent,  and  from  thia 
point  commences  that  belt  of  solid  ice  which  locks  up  the 
harbours  of  the  northern  coast  of  Russia  for  six  mouths  in 
the  year.  The  change  from  open  water  to  ice  is  no  less 
abrupt  than  permanent.  Pastor  Hvoslef  informed  me  that 
in  crossing  from  Vadso,  on  the  northern  coast,  to  Pasvik, 
the  hist  Norwegian  settlement,  close  upon  the  Russian  fron- 
tier, as  late  as  the  end  of  May,  he  got  out  of  his  boat  upon 
the  ice,  and  drove  three  or  four  miles  over  the  frozen  sea.  tc 
reach  his  destination. 

The  little  fort  of  Vardohuus,  on  an  island  at  the  northern 
entrance  of  the  fjord,  is  not  a  recent  defence,  meant  to  check 
Russian  plans  in  this  quarter.  It  was  established  by  Chris- 
tian IV.  nearly  two  and  a  half  centuries  ago.  The  king 
himself  made  a  voyage  hither,  and  no  doubt  at  that  time 
foresaw  the  necessity  of  establishing,  by  military  occupation, 
the  claims  <>f  I  'enmark  to  this  part  of  the  coast.  The  little 
fortress  has  actually  d.'.i.e  this  service:  and  though  a  single 
frigate  might  easily  batter  it  to  pieces,  its  existence  has  kept 
Russia  from  the  ownership  of  the  Varanger  Fjord  and  the 
creation  (as  is  diplomatically  supposed,)  of  an  immense  naval 
station,  which,  though  within  the  Arctic  waters,  would  at 
all  times  of  the  year  be  ready  for  service.  It  is  well  known 
*jhat  Russia  has  endeavoured  to  obtain  possession  of  the 
northern  side  of  the  ijord,  as  well  as  of  the  Lyngen  Fjord 
near  Tromso,  towards  which  her  Lapland  territory  strctche, 
out  a  long  arm.  England  is  particularly  suspicious  of  these 
attempts,  and  the  treaty  recently  concluded  between  th« 
Allied  Powers  and  Sweden  had  a  special  reference  thereto 


3]4  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

The  importance  of  such  an  acquisition  to  Russia  is  too  ob- 
yious  to  be  pointed  out,  and  the  jealous  watchfulness  of 
England  is,  therefore,  easy  to  urderstand.  But  it  is  a 
singular  thing  that  the  conflicting  forces  of  Europe  find  a 
fulcrum  on  a  little  corner  of  this  dead,  desolate,  God-for- 
saken shore. 

About  ten  o'clock  we  reached  VadsB,  the  limit  of  the 
steamer's  route.  Here  we  had  intended  taking  a  boat,  con- 
tinuing our  voyage  to  Nyborg,  at  the  head  of  the  fjord, 
crossing  thence  to  the  Tana,  and  descending  that  river  in 
season  to  meet  the  steamer  in  the  Tana  Fjord  on  her  return. 
We  were  behind  time,  however,  and  the  wind  was  light ;  the 
people  informed  us  that  we  could  scarcely  carry  out  the  pro- 
ject; so  we  reluctantly  gave  it  up,  and  went  ashore  to  spend 
the  day.  Vadso  is  a  town  of  about  800  inhabitants,  with  a 
secure  though  shallow  harbour,  which  was  crowded  with 
fishing  vessels  and  Russian  traders  from  the  White  Sea.  It 
lies  on  the  bleak  hill-side,  without  a  tree  or  bush,  or  a 
patch  of  grass  large  enough  to  be  seen  without  close  inspec- 
tion, and  its  only  summer  perfume  is  that  of  dried  fish.  1 
saw  in  gardens  attached  to  one  or  two  houses  a  few  coura- 
geous radishes  and  some  fool-hardy  potatoes,  which  had  ven- 
tured above  ground  without  the  least  chance  of  living  long 
enough  to  blossom.  The  snow  had  been  four  feet  deep  in 
the  streets  in  the  beginning  of  June,  and  in  six  weeks  it 
would  begin  to  fall  again.  A  few  forlorn  cows  were  hunt 
ing  pasture  over  the  hills,  now  and  then  looking  with  mel- 
ancholy resignation  at  the  strings  of  codfish  heads  hanging 
up  to  dry,  on  the  broth  of  which  they  are  fed  during  tht 
winter.  I  took  a  walk  and  made  a  sketch  during:  tlie  after 


THK    VAH.A.VCKR    FJOKU.— AIUTIC    LIFE.  315 

noon,  but  the  wind  was  so  chill  that  I  was  glad  to  come  back 
shivering  to  our  quarters. 

We  obtained  lodgings  at  the  house  of  a  baker,  named  Aa$ 
who  had  learned  the  art  of  charging,  and  was  therefore  com 
petent  to  conduct  a  hotel.  In  order  to  reach  our  room,  wr 
were  obliged  to  pass  successively  through  the  family  dwell- 
ing-room, kitchen,  and  a  carpenter's  workshop,  but  our  win- 
dows commanded  a  full  view  of  a  grogshop  across  the  way, 
where  drunken  Lapps  were  turned  out  with  astonishing 
rapidity.  It  was  the  marriage  month  of  the  Lapps,  and  the 
town  was  full  of  young  couples  who  had  come  down  to  be 
joined,  with  their  relatives  and  friends,  all  in  their  gayest 
costumes.  Through  the  intervention  of  the  postmaster,  1 
procured  two  women  and  a  child,  as  subjects  for  a  sketch 
They  were  dressed  in  their  best,  and  it  was  impossible  not 
to  copy  the  leer  of  gratified  vanity  lurking  in  the  corners  of 
their  broad  mouths.  The  summer  dress  consisted  of  a  loose 
gown  of  bright  green  cloth,  trimmed  on  the  neck  and  sleeves 
with  bands  of  scarlet  and  yellow,  and  a  peculiar  head-dress, 
shaped  like  a  helmet,  but  with  a  broader  and  flatter  crest, 
rounded  in  fron ,.  This,  also,  was  covered  with  scarlet  cloth, 
and  trimmed  with  yellow  and  blue.  They  were  greatly 
gratified  with  the  distinction,  and  all  the  other  Lapps,  as  in 
Kautokeino,  would  have  willingly  offered  themselves.  1 
found  the  same  physical  characteristics  here  as  there — a 
fresh,  ruddy  complexion,  inclining  to  tawny ;  bright  blue 
eyes,  brown  hair,  high  cheek  bones,  and  mouths  of  enormou? 
width.  They  are  not  strikingly  below  the  average  size 
Heine  says,  in  one  of  his  mad  songs  : 


JJt  NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 

4  In  Lapland  the  people  are  dirty, 

Flat-headed,  and  broad-mouthed,  and  sm&l} 
They  squat  round  the  tire  while  roasting 
Their  fishes,  and  chatter  and  squall ;' 

which  is  as  good  a  description  of  them  as  can  be  packed  info 
a  stanza.  On  the  present  occasion  they  were  all  drunk,  in 
addition  One  of  them  lay  for  a  long  time  at  the  door,  with 
his  legs  doubled  under  him  as  he  fell,  the  others  stepping 
over  his  body  as  they  went  in  and  out.  These  poor  creatures 
were  openly  and  shamelessly  allowed  to  drug  themselves, 
as  long  as  their  money  lasted.  No  wonder  the  race  is  be- 
coming extinct,  when  the  means  of  destruction  is  so  freely 
offered. 

VadsS,  although  only  forty  miles  from  Vard5,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  fjord,  has  a  much  drier  and  more  agreeable 
climate,  and  the  inhabitants  are  therefore  loud  in  praise  of 
their  place.  "  We  have  no  such  fogs  as  at  Vardo,"  say 
they;  "our  fish  dry  much  better,  and  some  years  we  can 
raise  potatoes."  For  the  last  four  or  five  years,  however, 
the  winters  have  been  getting  more  and  more  severe,  and 
now  it  is  impossible  to  procure  hay  enough  to  keep  their 
few  cattle  through  the  winter.  We  had  on  board  a  German 
who  had  been  living  there  five  years,  and  who  appeared  well 
satisfied  with  his  lot.  "I  have  married  here,"  said  he;  "I 
make  a  good  living  with  less  trouble  than  in  Germany,  and 
have  no  wish  to  return."  Singularly  enough,  there  were 
also  two  Italian  organ  grinders  on  board}  whom  I  accosted 
in  their  native  language;  but  they  seemed  neither  surprised 
nor  particularly  pleased.  They  dropped  hints  of  hiving 
been  engaged  in  some  political  conspiracy  ;  and  one  of  their 


THE   VAKANGEK  FJORD — ARCTIC    L.FE.  317 

said,  with  a  curious  mixture  of  Italian  and  Norsk  words 
"  Jeg  voglio  ikke  ritornare"     I  said  the  same  thing  ("  1 
shall  not  return")  as  I  left  Vadsd. 

We  sailed  early  the  next  morning,  and  in  the  afternoon 
reached  Vardo,  where  we  lay  three  hours.  Here  we  took 
on  board  the  three  officers,  who  had  in  the  meantime  made 
their  inspection.  Vardohuus  is  a  single  star-shaped  fort, 
with  six  guns  and  a  garrison  of  twenty-seven  men.  During 
the  recent  war,  the  garrison  was  increased  to  three  hundred — 
an  unnecessary  precaution,  if  there  was  really  any  danger  of 
an  attack  to  be  apprehended,  so  long  as  the  defences  of  the 
place  wire  not  strengthened.  One  of  the  officers,  who  had 
gone  out  fishing  the  night  previous,  caught  eighty-three 
splendid  cod  in  the  space  of  two  hours.  It  was  idle  sport, 
however,  for  no  one  would  take  his  fish  as  a  gift,  and  they 
were  thrown  on  the  shore  to  rot.  The  difficulty  is  not  in 
catching  but  in  curing  them.  Owing  to  the  dampness  ol 
the  climate  they  cannot  be  hung  up  on  poles  to  dry  slowly, 
like  the  stnrk-ji.\-/i  of  the  Lofodens,  but  must  be  first  salted 
and  then  laid  on  the  rocks  to  dry,  whence  the  term  klip 
(cliff)  fish,  by  which  they  are  known  in  trade. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Tana  we  picked  up  four  Englishmen, 
who  had  been  salmon  fishing  on  the  river.     They  were  sun- 
burnt, spotted  with  mosquito  bites,  and  had  had  little  luck, 
the  river  being  f;-.ll  of  nets  and  the  fjord  of  seals,  betweei 
which  the  best  of  the  salmon  are  either  caught  or  devoured 
jut  they  spoke  of  their  experience  with  true  English  relish. 
Oh,  it  was  very  jolly  !"  said  one :  "  we  were  so  awfully  bit- 
ten by  mosquitoes.     Then  our  interpreter  always  lost  every 
thing  just   before  we  wanted   it— think   of  his  losing  ou» 


318  NORTHERN   TRAVEL 

frying  pan,  so  that  we  had  to  fry  in  the  lids  of  our  kettles; 
He  had  a  habit  of  falling  overboard  and  getting  nearly 
drowned  before  we  could  pull  him  in.  We  had  a  rough 
time  of  it,  but  it  was  very  jolly,  I  assure  you !"  The  young 
fellows  meant  what  they  said ;  they  were  all  the  better  for 
their  roughing,  and  I  wish  the  spindle  shanked  youths  who 
polk  and  flirt  at  Newport  and  Saratoga  had  manliness 
enough  for  such  undertakings. 

We  reached  Hammerfest  on  the  last  day  of  July,  and  re- 
occupied  our  old  quarters.  That  night  the  sun  went  below 
the  horizon  for  the  first  time  in  eight  days,  but  his  depth 
was  too  slight  to  make  any  darkness  visible.  I  was  quite 
tired  of  the  unending  daylight,  and  would  willingly  have 
exchanged  the  pomp  of  the  arctic  midnight  for  the  starlit 
darkness  of  home.  We  were  confused  by  the  loss  of  night ; 
we  lost  the  perception  of  time.  One  is  never  sleepy,  but 
simply  tired,  and  after  a  sleep  of  eight  hours  by  sunshine, 
wakes  up  as  tired  as  ever.  His  sleep  at  last  is  broken  and 
irregular ;  he  substitutes  a  number  of  short  naps,  distributed 
through  the  twenty-four  hours,  for  the  one  natural  repose, 
and  finally  gets  into  a  state  of  general  uneasiness  and  dis- 
comfort. A  Hammerfest  merchant,  who  has  made  frequent 
voyages  to  Spitzbergen,  told  rnc  that  in  the  latitude  of  80° 
he  never  knew  certainly  whether  it  was  day  or  night,  and 
the  cook  was  the  only  person  on  board  who  could  tell  him. 

At  first  the  nocturnal  sunshine  strikes  you  as  being  won- 
derfully convenient.  You  lose  nothing  of  the  scenery  ;  you 
san  read  and  write  as  usual ;  you  never  need  be  in  a  hurry 
because  there  is  time  enough  for  everything  It  is  no' 
necessary  to  do  your  day's  work  in  the  daytime,  for  no  nigh' 


THK    V. -\RAXr.KR    FJORD. — ARCTIC    LIFE.  319 

jumeth.  You  are  never  belated,  ru.d  somewhat  of  the  stress 
of  life  is  lifted  from  your  shoulders ;  but,  after  a  time,  you 
would  be  glad  of  an  excuse  to  stop  seeing  ind  observing,  and 
thinking,  and  even  enjoying.  There  is  no  Compulsive  rest 
Buch  as  darkness  brings — no  sweet  isolation,  which  is  the 
best  refreshment  of  sleep.  You  lie  down  in  the  broad  day, 
and  the  summons,  "  Arise  !"  attends  on  every  re-opening  of 
your  eyes.  I  never  went  below  and  saw  my  fellow-passengera 
all  asleep  around  me  without  a  sudden  feeling  that  some- 
thing was  wrong :  they  were  drugged,  or  under  some  unna- 
tural influence,  that  they  thus  slept  so  fast  while  the  sunshine 
streamed  in  through  the  port-holes. 

There  are  some  advantages  of  this  northern  summer  which 
have  presented  themselves  to  me  in  rather  a  grotesque  light, 
Think  what  an  aid  and  shelter  is  removed  from  crime — how 
many  vices  which  can  only  flourish  in  the  deceptive  atmos« 
phere  of  night,  must  be  checked  by  the  sober  reality  of  day 
light !  ]\o  assassin  can  dog  the  steps  of  his  victim ;  nc 
burglar  can  work  in  sunshine;  no  guilty  lover  can  hold 
stolen  interviews  by  moonlight — all  concealment  is  removed, 
for  the  sun,  like  the  eye  of  God.  sees  everything,  and  the 
secret  vices  of  the  earth  must  be  bold  indeed,  if  they  can 
bear  his  gaze.  Morally,  as  well  as  physically,  there  is  safety 
in  light  and  danger  in  darkness;  and  yet  give  me  the  dark- 
ness and  the  danger !  Let  the  patrolling  sun  go  off  his  beat 
for  awhile  and  show  a  little  confidence  in  my  ability  to 
behave  properly,  rather  than  worry  me  with  his  sleepless 
vigilance. 

I  have  described  the  smells  of  Hammerfest,  which  are  its 
principal  characteristic.     It  seemed  to  me  the  dreariest  plaw 


J20  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

in  the  world  011  first  larding,  a  week  previous ;  but,  by  ci  n- 
trast  with  what  we  Lad  in  the  meantime  seen,  it  becaim 
rather  cheerful  ar  I  comfortable,  i  was  visiting  a  merchant 
after  our  retur  .,  and  noticed  with  pleasure  a  stunted  ash 
about  eight  f  jt  high,  in  an  adjoining  garden.  "  Ch  !'?  said 
he,  in  a  tone  of  irritated  pride,  "we  have  plenty  of  trees 
here ;  there  is  quite  a  forest  up  the  valley."  This  forest 
after  some  search,  I  found.  The  trees  were  about  six  feet 
high,  and  some  of  them  might  have  been  as  thick  as  my 
wrist.  In  the  square  before  the  merchant's  house  lay  a  crowd 
of  drunken  Lapps,  who  were  supplied  \\ith  as  much  bad 
brandy  as  they  wanted  by  a  licensed  grog-shop.  The  Rus- 
§ian  sailors  made  use  of  the  same  privilege,  and  we  frequently 
heard  them  singing  and  wrangling  on  board  their  White  Sea 
junks  They  were  unapproachably  picturesque,  especially 
after  the  day's  work  was  over,  when  they  generally  engaged 
in  hunting  in  the  extensive  forests  of  their  beards,  and 
exercised  the  law  of  retaliation  on  all  the  game  they  caught. 
A  long  street  of  turf-roofed  houses,  whose  inhabitants  may 
be  said  to  be  under  the  sod  even  before  they  die,  leads  along 
the  shore  of  the  bay  to  a  range  of  flakes  redolent  of  drying 
codfish.  Beyond  this  you  clamber  over  rucks  and  shingles 
to  a  low  grassy  headland,  whereon  stands  a  pillar  commem- 
orating the  measurement  of  a  meridian  line  of  25°  20',  from 
the  Danube  to  the  Polar  Sea,  which  was  accomplished  by 
the  Governments  of  Austria,  Russia,  and  Sweden,  betweeD 
he  years  131(3  and  185'^.  The  pillar  marks  the  northerc 
terminus  of  the  line,  and  stands  in  lat.  70°  40'  11-3".  It 
is  a  plain  shaft  of  polished  red  granite,  standing  on  a  base 
of  grey  granite,  and  tmrmonnted  by  a  bronze  globe,  on  which 
a  map  of  tho  earth  is  roughly  outlined. 


THK  RETURN  TO  DARKNESS. — NORWEGIAN  CHARACTER 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

THE  RETURN  TO  DARKNESS. NORWEGIAN  CHARACTER. 

I  DO  not  intend  to  trace  our  return,  step  by  step,  down  the 
Norwegian  coast.  The  splendid  weather  which  prevailed 
during  our  upward  voyage,  enabled  us  to  see  all  the  interest- 
ing points,  leaving  only  those  parts  which  we  missed  in  the 
few  hours  devoted  to  sleep,  to  give  a  little  novelty  to  onr 
return.  During  the  whole  trip  we  had  not  a  drop  of  rain, 
— the  rarest  good  fortune  in  these  latitudes, — and  were 
therefore  twice  enabled  to  enjoy,  to  the  fullest  extent,  the 
Bublime  scenery  of  the  Lofoden  Isles  and  the  coast  of  Nord- 
land.  This  voyage  has  not  its  like  in  the  world.  The 
traveller,  to  whom  all  other  lands  are  familiar,  has  here  a 
new  volume  of  the  most  wonderful  originality  and  variety, 
opened  to  him.  The  days  are  illuminated  pages,  crowded 
with  pictures,  the  forms  and  hues  of  which  he  can  never 
forget.  After  I  returned  to  the  zone  of  darkness,  and  recov 
ered  from  the  stress  and  tension  of  three  weeks  of  daylight, 
1  first  fully  appreciated  the  splendours  of  the  arctic  sun 
My  eyes  were  still  dazzled  with  the  pomp  of  colour,  and  th 
uhousand  miles  of  coast,  as  I  reviewed  them  in  memory,  witr 
their  chaos  of  island-pyramids  of  shattered  rock,  their  colos- 


flal  cliffs,  their  hvisied  fjords,  and  long  fjeld-levels  of  eternal 
snow,  swam  in  a  sea  of  saffron  and  rosy  light,  in  comparison 
with  which  the  pale  blue  day  around  me  seemeJ  dull  and 
dead.  My  dream  of  the  North,  in  becoming  a  reality,  has 
retained  the  magical  atmosphere  of  dreams,  and  basks  in  the 
game  gorgeous  twilight  which  irradiates  the  Scandinavian 
sagas. 

I  was  particularly  struck  during  the  return,  with  the 
rapid  progress  of  summer — the  flying  leaps  with  which  she 
clears  her  short  course.  Among  the  Lofodens,  the  potatoes 
were  coming  into  blossom,  and  the  rye  and  barley  into  head ; 
the  grass  was  already  cut,  in  many  places,  and  drying  on 
poles,  and  the  green  of  the  woods  and  meadows  showed  the 
dark,  rich  character  of  southern  lands.  Owing  to  this  ra- 
pidity of  growth,  all  the  more  hardy  varieties  of  vegetables 
may  be  successfully  cultivated.  Mr.  Thomas  informed  me 
that  his  peas  and  beans  at  Kaafjord  (lat.  70°  N.)  grew  three 
inches  in  twenty-four  hours,  and,  though  planted  six  weeks 
later  than  those  about  Christiania,  came  to  maturity  at  the 
same  tine.  He  has  even  succeeded  in  raising  excellent 
cauliflowers.  But  very  few  of  the  farmers  have  vegetable 
Gardens,  and  those  which  I  saw  contained  only  radishes  and 
lettuce,  with  a  few  useful  herbs.  One  finds  the  same  pas- 
sion for  flowers,  however,  as  in  Northern  Sweden,  and  the 
poorest  are  rarely  without  a  rose  or  a  geranium  in  their 
windows. 

Pastor  Hvoslef,  who  was  again  our  fellow-traveller  for  a 
few  hours,  gave  me  some  interesting  information  concerning 
the  Lapps.  They  are,  it  seems,  entitled  to  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, and  to  renresentation  in  the  Storthing,  equally  with 


THE  KETURN   TO   DARKNfcSS.— NORWEGIAN   CHARACTER 

the  Norwegians.  The  local  jurisdiction  repeats  on  a  small 
Bcale  what  the  Storthing  transacts  on  a  large  one,  being  en- 
tirely popular  in  its  character,  except  that  the  vogts  and 
Idiismen  (whose  powers  are  somewhat  similar  to  those  of 
our  judges  and  country  magistrates)  are  not  elected.  But 
each  district  chooses  from  among  its  inhabitants  a  commit- 
tee to  co.nftT  upon  and  arrange  all  ordinary  local  matters. 
These  committees,  in  turn,  choose  persons  to  constitute  a 
higher  body,  who  control  the  reciprocal  relations  of  the  sev- 
eral districts,  and  intervene  in  case  of  difficulties  between 
them.  The  system  is  necessarily  simpler  and  somewhat 
more  primitive  in  its  character  than  our  local  organisations 
in  America ;  but  it  appears  at  present  to  answer  every  pur- 
pose. The  heavy  responsibility  resting  upon  judges  in  Nor- 
way— the  severity  of  the  checks  and  penalties  by  which  their 
proHty  is  insured — probably  contributes  to  make  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  laws  more  efficacious  and  easy:  The 
Lapps  are  not  a  difficult  people  to  govern,  and  much  of  the 
former  antagonism  between  them  and  the  poorer  classes  of 
the  Norwegians  has  passed  away.  There  is  little,  if  any, 
amalgamation  of  the  two  races,  nor  will  there  ever  be,  but 
there  is  probably  as  little  conflict  between  them  as  is  com- 
patible with  the  difference  of  blood. 

At  Tromsoe,  a  tall,  strong,  clerical  gentleman  came  on 
board,  who  proved  to  be  the  noted  Pastor  Lamers,  one  of 
thu  first  if  not  the  very  first  clergyman  in  Norway,  who  hag 
refused  to  receive  the  government  support — or,  in  other 
words,  has  seceded  from  the  Church,  as  a  State  establish- 
ment, while  adhering  to  all  its  fundamental  doctrines.  It  ia 
"he  first  step  towards  the  separation  of  Church  and  State 


324  HORTHI.RX  TRAVEL 

which  must  sooner  or  later  come,  in  Norway  and  in  Sweden 
He  has  a  congregation  of  three  hundred  members,  in  Trom- 
sde,  and  is  about  organising  a  church  at  Gibostad,  on  the 
island  of  Senjen.  He  has  some  peculiar  views,  I  believe,  in 
relatian  to  the  baptism  of  children,  and  insists  that  the 
usual  absolution  dealt  out  by  the  Pastors  is  of  no  effect 
without  full  confession  and  the  specification  of  particular 
Bi&s — but  in  other  respects  he  is  entirely  orthodox,  retaining 
even  the  ceremonial  of  the  Eucharist.  This,  in  the  Luther- 
an church  of  Norway,  comes  so  near  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  that  one  cannot  easily  per- 
ceive any  difference.  Instead  of  bread,  an  unleavened  wafer 
is  administered  to  the  communicants,  the  priest  saying,  as 
he  gives  it,  tl  This  is  the  true  body  and  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ."  Mr.  Forrester,  a  devout  admirer  of  the  Church, 
which  he  thinks  identical  with  that  of  England  in  all  its 
essentials,  says,  "  The  Lutherans  reject  the  Romish  doctrine 
of  transubstantiation,  but  they  hold  that  of  a  spiritual  and 
ineffable  union  of  the  divine  nature  with  the  elements,  the 
substance  of  which  remains  unchanged.  This  is  called  con- 
aulsfantiation.''  Verily,  the  difference  between  tweedledum 
and  tweedledee — one  being  as  absurd  as  the  other. 

No  one,  coming  from  a  land  where  all  sects  stand  upon 
an  equal  footing,  and  where  every  church  must  depend  for 
existence  on  its  own  inherent  vitality,  can  fail  to  be  struck 
with  the  effete  and  decrepit  state  of  religion  in  Sweden  and 
Norway.  It  is  a  body  of  frigid  mechanical  forms  and  cere- 
monies, animated  here  and  there  with  a  feeble  spark  of  spir- 
itual life,  but  diffusing  no  quickening  and  animating  glow 
I  have  often  been  particularly  struck  with  the  horror  with 


THE   RETURN   TO    DAKKXESS. — NORWEGIAN*   CHARACTER.        325 

which  the  omission  of  certain  forms  was  regarded  by  per 
.ions  in  whom  I  could  discover  no  trace  of  any  religious 
principle.  The  Church  has  a  few  dissensions  to  combat; 
she  has  not  been  weakened  by  schism  ;  but  she  is  slowly  ossi- 
fying from  sheer  inertia.  The  Reformation  needs  to  be  re- 
formed again,  and  perhaps  the  tardy  privileges  granted  to 
the  Haugiatier  and  L&sare — the  northern  Methodists — may 
result  in  producing  a  body  of  Dissenters  large  enough  to  ex- 
cite emulation,  action,  and  improvement.  In  Norway,  the 
pastors  have  the  best  salaries  and  the  easiest  places  of  all 
government  officials.  Those  who  conscientiously  discharge 
their  duties  have  enough  to  do ;  but  were  this  universally 
the  case,  one  would  expect  to  find  the  people  less  filthy, 
stupid,  and  dishonest  than  they  are  in  many  parts  of  the 
country.  A  specimen  of  the  intelligence  of  one,  who  is  now 
a  member  of  the  Storthing,  was  communicated  to  me  by  a 
gentleman  who  heard  it.  The  clergyman  advocated  the 
establishment  of  telegraph  lines  in  Norway,  "not  for  the 
sake  of  sending  news,"  said  he,  "  that  is  of  no  consequence. 
But  it  is  well  known  that  no  wolf  can  pass  under  a  tele- 
graph wire,  and  if  we  can  get  lines  put  up  throughout  the 
country,  all  the  wolves  will  be  obliged  to  leave !"  Of  course, 
[  do  not  mean  to  assert  that  the  Norwegian  clergymen,  as  a 
body,  are  not  sincere,  zealous,  well-informed  men.  The  evil 
lies  rather  in  that  system  which  makes  religion  as  much  a 
branch  of  government  service  as  law  or  diplomacy ;  and 
which,  until  very  recently,  has  given  one  sect  an  exclusive 
monopoly  of  the  care  of  human  souls. 

1  had  a  strong  desire  to  converse  with  Pastor  Lamers  in 

relation  to  the  stand  he  has  taken,  but  he  was  surrounded  bt 
15 


326  NORTH  I. RX   TRAVEL 

a  crowd  of  persons  during  his  stay  on  board,  and  no  oppor 
tunity  presented  itself.  The  sensation  which  his  presence  pro- 
duced, showed  that  there  are  restless  elements  at  work  in  the 
mind  of  the  people.  The  stony  crust  is  beginning  to  heave 
and  split  at  last.  .  Even  the  deck-passengers  gathered  ink 
little  groups  and  talked  earnestly.  Two  gentlemen  near  me 
were  discussing  the  question  of  an  Established  Church,  one 
contending,  that  a  variety  of  sects  tended  only  to  confuse, 
perplex,  and  unchristianise  the  uneducated,  unthinking  class. 
while  the  other  asserted  that  this  very  class  adhered  most 
tenaciously  to  whatever  faith  had  been  taught  them.  At 
this  moment  a  woman  standing  near  us  exclaimed:  "There 
were  false  prophets  in  all  times,  and  there  are  false  prophets 
now  !  We  must  beware  of  them  !" — the  earnestness  of  her 
speech  affording  a  good  comment  on  the  argument  just  pro- 
duced. Whatever  may  be  the  popular  opinion  concerning 
the  course  of  Pastor  Lamers,  I  could  not  but  notice  the 
marked  respect  displayed  by  every  one  who  approached  him. 
In  passing  Hindoe,  we  saw  two  magnificent  golden  eagles 
wheeling  around  one  of  the  loftiest  cliffs.  The  wind  ble\* 
strongly  from  the  south-west,  increasing  until  we  had  what 
sailors  call  a  dry  gale  in  crossing  the  West  Fjord,  but  it 
abated  the  next  day  and  by  the  late  twilight  we  recrossed 
the  arctic  circle.  This  night  there  was  great  rejoicing  on 
board,  at  the  discovery  of  a  star.  We  had  not  seen  one  for 
a  month,  and  some  of  the  passengers  coming  from  Finmark 
had  been  more  than  two  months  in  daylight.  While  we 
were  all  gazing  upon  it  as  upon  some  extraordinary  phe- 
nomenon, a  flood  of  yellow  ^amp-light  suddenly  streamed 
through  the  cabin  skylight.  The  sky  was  still  brilliani 


THE    RKTIRX    TO    DVBKXKSS. — XOKWHilAN    CHARACTER.       32J 

sunset  in  the  north,  but  it' was  dark  enough  to  see  tc 
sleep.  We  could  not  yet  cover  ourselves  all  over,  tven  as 
with  i  cloak;  still  there  was  a  shelter  and  friendly  covering 
for  the  helpless  body  Our  sleep  became  sound  and  regular 
and  its  old  power  of  restoration  was  doubly  sweet,  since  w 
had  known  what  it  was  to  be  deprived  of  it. 

Our  fellow-passengers,  after  leaving  Carlsoe,  where  the 
young  Englishmen  stopped  to  hunt,  were  almost  exclusively 
Norwegian,  and  this  gave  us  further  opportunities  of  be- 
coming acquainted  with  some  peculiarities  of  the  national 
character.  Intelligent  Norwegians,  especially  those  who 
have-  travelled,  are  exceedingly  courteous,  gentlemanly,  and 
agreeable  persons.  The  three  officers  on  board  were  men  of 
unusual  intelligence  and  refinement,  and  we  considered  our- 
selves fortunate  in  having  their  company  during  the  entire 
voyage.  The  land/land  tare,  or  country  merchants,  and 
government  officials  of  the  lower  ranks,  exhibit  more  reserve, 
and  not  unfrequently  a  considerable  amount  of  ignorance 
and  prejudice.  Perhaps  the  most  general  feature  of  the 
Norwegian  character  is  an  excessive  national  vanity,  which 
is  always  on  the  alert,  and  fires  up  on  the  slightest  provoca- 
tion. Say  everything:  you  like,  except  that  Norway  in  any 
respect  is  surpassed  by  any  other  country.  One  is  assailed 
with  questions  about  his  impressions  of  the  scenery,  people, 
government,  (fee. — a  very  natural  and  pardonable  curiosity, 
it  is  true,  and  one  only  demands  in  return  that  his  candour 
be  respected,  and  no  offence  taken.  This,  however,  is  rarely 
the  case.  If  there  is  no  retaliatory  answer  on  the  spot,  you 
aear  a  remark  days  after  rani  *  \vhich  shows  how  your  mild 
Censure  has  rankled  in  the  mind  of  trie  hearer.  My  friend 


NOR  CHERN  TRAVEL. 


was  asked  by  a  passenger  whether  he  did  not  think  tb,€ 
women  of  Finmark  very  beautiful.  It  was  impossible  to 
answer  in  the  affirmative :  the  questioner  went  off  in  high 
dudgeon,  and  did  not  speak  to  him  again  for  several  days. 

In  the  Varanger  Fjord,  we  had  pretty  freely  expressed 
our  impressions  of  the  desolate  coast.  Afterwards  on  re- 
turning past  the  grand  cliff  scenery  of  Nordkyn,  we  were 
admiring  some  bold  formation  of  the  rocks,  when  a  Nor^ 
wegian  came  up  and  said,  in  a  tone  of  angry  irony  :  "  Ah, 
you  find  a  little  to  admire  at  last,  do  you?  You  find  some 
beauty  in  our  country,  after  all  ?"  So  in  regard  to  the 
government.  The  Norwegians  may  be  justly  proud  of  their 
constitution,  which  is  as  republican  in  its  character  as  our 
own.  There  is  so  much  in  the  administration  of  the  gov- 
ernment which  every  one  must  heartly  commend,  that  they 
should  be  less  sensitive  in  regard  to  minor  faults.  This 
sensitiveness,  however,  is  partly  accounted  for,  when  we  re- 
member that  for  four  hundred  years  Norway  was  a  Danish 
province,  and  that  only  forty-three  years  ago  she  leaped  at 
once  from  subjection  to  a  freedom  such  as  no  other  country 
in  Europe  enjoys.  The  intense  pride  and  self-glorification 
of  the  people  resembles  that  of  a  youth  who  for  the  first 
time  assumes  a  dress-coat  and  stand  ing  collar.  King  Oscar, 
Dn  his  accession  to  the  throne,  gave  the  country  a  separate 
national  flag,  and  nowhere  does  one  see  such  a  display  of 
flags.  All  over  the  land  and  all  along  the  shores,  the  colours 
of  Norway  are  flying. 

Jealousy  of  Sweden  and  dislike  of  the  Swedes  are  inher- 
ited feelings,  and  are  kept  alive  by  a  mutual  prejudice  OL 
the  part  of  the  latter  people.  One  cannot  but  smile  a  link 
at  the  present  union  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  when  he  finds 


THE   Rl/lURN   TO   DtXKNESS. — XOKH'lHilAX    rHARACTER        3'^9 

that  tlie  countries  have  separate  currencies,  neither  of  which 
will  pass  at  its  full  value  in  the  other — separate  tariffs,  and 
of  course  Custom-house  examinations  between  the  two,  and 
if  the  Norwegians  had  their  way,  would  have  separate  diplo- 
matic representatives  abroad.  Yet  the  strength  of  Norway 
is  undoubtedly  in  her  alliance  with  Sweden  :  alone,  she 
would  be  but  a  fourth-rate  power.  Enough  has  been  done 
to  satisfy  her  national  feeling  and  secure  her  liberties  against 
assault,  and  it  is  now  time  that  this  unnecessary  jealousy 
and  mistrust  of  a  kindred  race  should  cease.  The  Sw  idea 
have  all  the  honesty  which  the  Norwegians  claim  for  them- 
selves, more  warmth  and  geniality  of  character,  and  less 
selfish  sharpness  and  shrewdness.  Mugge  tells  a  story  of  a 
number  of  Swedes  who  were  at  a  dinner  party  in  Paris, 
where  the  health  of  "  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway"  was 
proposed  and  drunk  with  great  enthusiasm.  One  glass  was 
observed  to  be  untouched.  It  belonged  to  a  Norwegian,  who, 
when  called  upon  for  an  explanation,  said :  "  I  cannot  drink 
such  a  toast  as  this,  but  I  will  drink  the  health  of  the  King 
of  Norway,  who  is  also  Kintr  of  Sweden  !" 

One  cannot  find  fault  with  a  people  for  their  patriotism. 
I  have  always  admired  that  love  of  Gamle  Norge  which 
shines  through  Norwegian  history,  song  and  saga — but  when 
it  is  manifested  in  such  ridiculous  extremes,  one  doubts  the 
genuineness  of  the  feeling,  and  suspects  it  of  being  alloyet? 
with  some  degree  of  personal  vanity.  There  are  still  evila 
to  be  eradicated, — reproaches  to  be  removed, — reforms  to 
be  achieved,  which  claim  all  the  best  energies  of  the  best 
men  of  the  country,  and  positive  harm  is  ione  by  concealing 
or  denying  th^  true  state  of  things. 


.330  NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

DRONTHEIM    AND    BERGEN. 

WE  spent  another  day  and  a  half  in'Drontheim,  before 
re.-hipping  in  the  steamer  for  Bergen.  With  the  except  ion 
of  a  trip  to  the  Lierfoss,  or  falls  of  the  Nid,  however,  it 
was  by  no  means  a  satisfactory  sojourn.  The  hotel  was 
full,  and  we  could  only  get  quarters  in  the  billiard-room, 
through  which  other  guests  were  continually  passing  and 
repassing.  Two  small  boys  were  quite  inadequate  to  the 
service ;  the  table  d'hote  was  the  scantiest  I  ever  saw,  and 
the  charges  at  the  rate  of  three  dollars  a.  day.  The  whole 
of  Sunday  was  consumed  in  an  attempt  to  recover  our  car- 
rioles, which  we  left  behind  us  on  embarking  for  Hainmcr- 
fest.  The  servants  neglected  to  get  them  on  Saturday  even 
ing,  as  we  had  ordered,  and  in  the  morning  the  man  who 
had  the  key  of  the  warehouse  went  into  the  country,  taking 
it  with  him.  The  whole  day  was  spent 'in  searching  and 
waiting,  and  it  was  only  by  unremitting  exertions  that  we 
succeeded  in  putting  them  on  board  in  the  evening.  Owing 
to  this  annoyance,  I  was  unable  to  attend  service  in  the 
cathedral,  or  even  to  see  the  inside  of  it. 

Our  drive  to  the  Lierfoss,  in  the  evening,  was  an 


DKON'llll  IM    AND    BERGEN.  331 

ite  enjoyment.  The  valley  of  the  Nid,  behind  Drontheim 
is  one  of  the  most  carefully  cultivated  spots  in  Norway. 
Our  road  led  up  the  stream,  overlooking  rich  levels  of  grain 
and  hay  fields,  studded  with  large  and  handsome  farm-houses, 
while  the  lower  slopes  of  the  hills  and  the  mound-like  knolla 
scattered  along  their  bases,  were  framed  to  the  very  summit, 
Btcep  as  they  were.  The  whole  scene  was  like  a  piece  of 
landscape  gardening,  full  of  the  loveliest  effects,  which  were 
enhanced  by  the  contrast  of  the  grey,  sterile  mountains  by 
which  the  picture  was  framed.  The  soft,  level  sunshine, 
streaming  through  the  rifts  of  broken  thunder-clouds  in  the 
west,  slowly  wandered  over  the  peaceful  valley,  here  lighting 
up  a  red-roofed  homestead,  there  a  grove  in  full  summer 
foliage,  or  a  meadow  of  so  brilliant  an  emerald  that  it  seemed 
to  shine  by  its  own  lustre.  As  we  approached  the  Lierfoss, 
the  road  was  barred  with  a  great  number  of  gates,  before 
which  waited  a  troop  of  ragged  boys,  who  accompanied 
us  the  whole  of  the  way,  with  a  pertinacity  equal  to  that 
of  the  little  Swiss  beggars. 

The  Nid  here  makes  two  falls  about  half  a  mile  apart, 
the  lower  one  being  eighty,  and  the  upper  one  ninety  feet  in 
height.  The  water  is  of  a  dark  olive-green  colour,  and 
glassy  transparency,  and  so  deep  that  at  the  brink  it  makes 
huge  curves  over  the  masses  of  rock  in  its  bed  without  break- 
ing into  the  faintest  ripple.  As  you  stand  on  a  giant  boulder 
above  it,  and  contrast  the  swift,  silent  rush  with  the  thun- 
dering volume  of  amber-tinted  spray  which  follows,  you  feel 
n  its  full  force  the  strange  fascination  of  falling  water — 
the  temptation  to  plunge  in  and  join  in  its  headlcng  revelry. 
Here,  however,  I  must  admit  that  the  useful  is  not  alwayi 


SOUTI1KUX    TUAVF.I,. 


the  beautiful.  The  range  of  smoky  mills  driven  by  a  sluice 
from  the  fall  had  better  be  away.  The  upper  fall  isd.vided 
m  the  centre  by  a  mass  of  rock,  and  presents  a  broader  and 
more  imposing  picture,  though  the  impetus  of  the  water  ia 
not  so  great. 

The  coast  between  Drontheim  and  Bergen  is,  on  the 
whole,  much  less  striking  than  that  further  north  ;  but  it 
has  some  very  grand  features.  The  outer  islands  are,  with 
few  exceptions,  low  and  barren,  but  the  coast,  deeply  indented 
with  winding  fjords,  towers  here  and  there  into  sublime 
headlands,  and  precipitous  barriers  of  rock.  Christiansund, 
where  we  touched  the  first  afternoon,  is  a  singularly  pictur- 
esque place,  built  on  four  islands,  separated  by  channels  in 
the  form  of  a  cross.  The  bare,  rounded  masses  of  grey  rock 
heave  up  on  all  sides  behind  the  houses,  which  are  built 
along  the  water's  edge;  here  and  there  a  tree  of  superb 
greenness  shines  against  the  colourless  background,  and  the 
mountains  of  the  mainland,  with  their  tints  of  pink  and 
purple,  complete  the  picture.  The  sun  was  burningly  hot, 
and  the  pale-green  water  reflected  the  shores  in  its  oily  gloss  ; 
but  in  severe  storms,  I  was  told,  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
cross  from  one  island  to  another,  and  the  different  parts  of 
the  town  sometimes  remain  for  days  in  a  state  of  complete 
isolation.  I  rose  very  early  next  morning,  to  have  a  view  of 
Molde  and  the  enchanting  scenery  of  the  Romsdals-fjord. 
The  prosperous-looking  town,  with  its  large  square  houses, 
fcs  suburban  cottages  and  gardens,  on  the  slope  of  a  Icng 
green  hill,  crawned  with  woods,  was  wholly  Swiss  in  its  ap- 
pearance, but  the  luminous  morning  vapors  havering  around 
the  Alpine  peaks  in  the  e;iat,  entirely  Kid  them  from  our 


DRONTHEIM   AND    I5KUGEN. 


new.  In  this  direction  lies  the  famous  RomsdaJ,  which 
many  travellers  consider  the  grandest  specimen  of  Norwe- 
gian scenery.  Unfortunately  we  could  not  have  visited  it 
without  taking  an  entire  week,  and  we  were  apprehensive 
lest  the  fine  weather,  which  we  had  now  enjoyed  for  twenty- 
four  days,  should  come  to  an  end  before  we  were  done  with 
the  Bergenstift.  It  is  almost  unexampled  that  travellers 
make  the  voyage  from  Drontheim  to  the  Varanger  Fjord 
and  back  without  a  cloudy  day.  While  we  had  perpetual 
daylight,  the  tourists  whom  we  left  behind  were  drenched 
with  continual  rains. 

Aalesund  is  another  island  port,  smaller  than  Christian- 
sund,  but  full  as  picturesque.  The  intense  heat  and  clear- 
ness of  the  day,  the  splendour  of  the  sunshine,  which  turned 
the  grassy  patches  on  the  rocks  into  lustrous  velvet,  and 
the  dark,  dazzling  blue  of  the  sea  belonged  rather  to 
southern  Italy  than  to  Norway.  As  we  approached  Bergen, 
however,  the  sky  became  gradually  overcast,  and  the  even- 
ing brought  us  clouds  and  showers.  Not  far  from  Aale- 
sund was  the  castle  of  Hollo,  the  conqueror  of  Normandy 
All  this  part  of  the  coast  is  Viking  ground :  from  these 
fjords  went  forth  their  piratical  dragons,  and  hither  they 
returned,  laden  with  booty,  to  rest  and  carouse  in  their 
Strongholds.  They  were  the  buccaneers  of  the  north  in 
their  time,  bold,  brave,  with  the  virtues  which  belong  to 
courage  and  hardihood,  but  coarse,  cruel,  and  brutal.  The 
Viking  of  Scandinavian  song  is  a  splendid  fellow  ;  but  hia 
original,  if  we  may  judge  from  his  descendants,  was  a 
dtupid,  hard  headed,  lustful,  and  dirty  giant,  whom  we  should 

rather  not  have  had  for  a  companion.     Harold  Haarfagei 
15* 


NORTH  T.KX    TRAVKI.. 


may  have  learnt  in  Constantinople  to  wash  his  face,  and 
comb  his  beautiful  hair,  but  I  doubt  if  many  of  his  fol- 
lowers imitated  him.  Let  us  hope  that  Ingeborg  changed 
her  dress  occasionally,  and  that  Balder's  temple  was  not 
full  of  fleas;  that  Thorsten  Vikingsson  placed  before  hia 
guests  something  better  than  Jladbrbd  and  rancid  butter; 
and  that  Bjorn  and  Frithiof  acted  as  honestly  toward? 
strangers  as  towards  each  other.  The  Viking  chiefs,  un- 
doubtedly, must  have  learned  the  comfort  of  cleanliness  and 
the  delights  of  good  living,  but  if  such  habits  were 
general,  the  nation  has  greatly  degenerated  since  theii 
time. 

We  stayed  on  deck  until  midnight,  notwithstanding  th< 
rain,  to  see  the  grand  rock  of  Hornelen,  a  precipice  12CK 
feet  high.  The  clouds  lifted  a  little,  and  there  was  a  dim, 
lurid  light  in  the  sky  as  our  steamer  swept  under  the  awful 
cliff.  A  vast,  indistinct  mass,  reaching  apparently  to  the 
zenith,  the  summit  crowned  with  a  pointed  tour,  resem- 
bling the  Cathedral  of  Drontheim,  and  the  sides  scarred 
with  deep  fissures,  loomed  over  us.  Now  a  splintered  spire 
disengaged  itself  from  the  gloom,  and  stood  defined  against 
the  sky;  lighter  streaks  marked  the  spots  where  portions 
had  slid  away  ;  but  all  else  was  dark,  uncertain,  and  sub- 
lime. Our  friendly  captain  had  the  steamer's  guns  dis- 
charged as  we  were  abreast  of  the  highest  part.  There 
were  no  separate  echoes,  but  one  tremendous  peal  of  sound, 
prolonged  like  the  note  of  an  organ  pipe,  and  gradually 
lying  away  at  the  summit  in  humming  vibrations. 

Next  morning,  we  were  sailing  in  a  narrow  strait,  be 
tween  perpendicular  cliffs,  fluted  like  basaltic  pillars.     It 


DRONTIIKIM   AND   BERGEN 

was  raining  dismally,  but  we  expected  nothing  else  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Bergen.  In  this  city  the  average  nuinbei 
rf  rainy  days  in  a  year  is  two  hundred.  Bergen  weather 
has  become  a  by-word  throughout  the  north,  and  no  travel- 
er ventures  to  hope  for  sunshine  when  he  turns  his  face 
thither.  "  Is  it  still  raining  at  Bergen  ?"  ask  the  Dutcli 
skippers  when  they  meet  a  Norwegian  captain.  "  Yes,  blast 
you;  is  it  still  blowing  at  the  Texel  ?"  is  generally  the  re- 
sponse. 

We  took  on  board  four  or  five  lepers,  on  their  way  to  the 
hospital  at  Bergeh.  A  piece  of  oil-cloth  had  been  thrown 
over  some  spars  to  shield  them  from  the  rain,  and  they  sat 
on  deck,  avoided  by  the  other  passengers,  a  melancholy  pic- 
ture of  disease  and  shame.  One  was  a  boy  of  fourteen,  up- 
on whose  face  wart-like  excrescences  were  beginning  to  ap- 
pear; while  a  woman,  who  seemed  to  be  his  mother,  was 
hideously  swollen  and  dish'gured.  A  man,  crouching  down 
with  his  head  between  his  hands,  endeavoured  to  hide  the 
seamed  and  knotted  mass  of  protruding  blue  flesh,  which 
had  once  been  a  human  face.  The  forms  of  leprosy,  ele- 
phantiasis, and  other  kindred  diseases,  which  I  have  seen  in 
the  East,  and  in  tropical  countries,  are  not  nearly  so  horri- 
ble. For  these  unfortunates  there  was  no  hope.  Some 
years,  more  or  less,  of  a  life  which  is  worse  than  death,  was 
all  to  which  they  could  look  forward.  No  cure  has  yet 
been  discovered  for  this  terrible  disease.  There  are  two 
oospitals  in  Bergen,  one  of  which  contains  about  live  hun- 
dred patients;  while  the  other,  which  has  recently  been 
erected  for  the  reception  of  cases  in  the  earlier  stages,  whc 
may  be  subjected  to  experimental  courses  of  treatment,  has? 


336  NORTHEUX    TRAVEL. 

already  one  hundred.  This  form  of  leprosy  is  supposed  tc 
be  produced  partly  by  an  exclusive  diet  of  salt  fish,  and 
partly  by  want  of  personal  cleanliness.  The  latter  is  the 
most  probable  cause,  and  one  does  not  wonder  at  the  result, 
after  he  has  had  a  little  experience  of  Norwegian  filth.  It 
is  the  awful  curse  which  falls  upon  such  beastly  habits  of 
life.  I  wish  the  Norwegians  could  be  made  Mussulmen  foi 
awhile,  for  the  sake  of  learning  that  cleanliness  is  not  only 
next  to  godliness,  but  a  necessary  part  of  it.  I  doubt  the 
existence  of  filthy  Christians,  and  have  always  believed  that 
St.  Jerome  was  atrociously  slandered  by  the  Italian  painters. 
But  is  there  no  responsibility  resting  upon  the  clergymen  of 
the  country,  who  have  so  much  influence  over  their  flocks, 
and  who  are  themselves  clean  and  proper  persons  ? 

Bergen  is  also,  as  I  was  informed,  terribly  scourged  by 
venereal  diseases.  Certainly,  I  do  not  remember  a  place, 
where  there  are  so  few  men — tall,  strong,  and  well-made  as 
the  people  generally  are — without  some  visible  mark  of  dis- 
ease or  deformily.  A  physician  of  the  city  has  recently  en- 
deavoured to  cure  syphilis  in  its  secondary  stage,  by  means 
of  inoculation,  having  first  tried  the  experiment  upon  him- 
self ;  and  there  is  now  a  hospital  where  this  form  of  treat- 
ment is  practised  upon  two  or  three  hundred  patients,  with 
the  greatest  success,  as  another  physician  informed  me.  I 
intended  to  have  visited  it,  as  well  as  the  hospital  for  lep- 
ers ;  but  the  sight  of  a  few  cases,  around  the  door  of  the 
latter  establishment,  so  sickened  me,  that  I  had  no  courag 
to  undertake  the  task. 

1  ,et  me  leave  these  disagreeable  themes,  and  say  that  Ber- 
«pn  is  one  of  the  most  charmingly  picturesque  towns  in  all  the 


DROXTHEIM  AND  BERGEN.  337 

North.  Its  name,  "  The  Mountain,"  denotes  one  of  its  mos4 
striking  features.  It  is  built  upon  two  low  capes,  which 
project  from  the  foot  of  a  low  mountain,  two  thousand  feet 
high,  while  directly  in  its  rear  lies  a  lovely  little  lake,  about 
three  miles  in  circumference.  On  the  end  of  the  northern 
headland  stands  the  fortress  of  Berghenhuus,  with  the  tall 
square  mass  of  WalkendorPs  Tower,,  built  upon  the  founda- 
tions of  the  former  palace  of  King  Olaf  Kyrre,  the  founder 
of  the  city.  The  narrow  harbour  between  is  crowded  with 
fishing-vessels, — during  the  season  often  numbering  from  six 
to  eight  hundred, — and  beyond  it  the  southern  promontory, 
quite  covered  with  houses,  rises  steeply  from  the  water.  A 
public  grove,  behind  the  fortress,  delights  the  eye  with  its 
dark -green  mounds  of  foliage;  near  it  rise  the  twin  towere 
of  the  German  Church,  which  boasts  an  age  of  nearly  seven 
hundred  years,  and  the  suburbs  on  the  steep  mountain-sides 
gradually  vanish  among  gardens  and  country-villas,  which 
are  succeeded  by  farms  and  grazing  fields,  lying  under  the 
topmost  ridges  of  the  bare  rock.  The  lake  in  the  rear  is 
surrounded  with  the  country  residences  of  the  rich  merchants 
— a  succession  of  tasteful  dwellings,  each  with  its  garden  and 
leafy  arbours,  its  flowers  and  fountains,  forming  a  rich  frame 
to  the  beautiful  sheet  of  water.  Avenues  of  fine  old  lindens 
thread  this  suburban  paradise,  and  seats,  placed  at  the  pro- 
per points,  command  views  of  which  one  knows  not  the 
loveliest  Everything  has  an  air  of  ancient  comfort,  taste, 
and  repose.  One  sees  yet,  the  footsteps  of  mighty  Hansa, 
*ho  for  three  centuries  reigned  here  supreme.  The  north- 
ern half  of  Bergen  is  still  called  the  '•  German  Quarter," 
and  there  are  very  few  citizens  of  education  who  do  not 
speak  the  language. 


538  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

With  one  or  two  exceptions,  the  streets  are  rough  and 
narrow.  There  are  no  quaint  peculiar!  ies  in  the  architec- 
ture, the  houses  being  all  of  wood,  painted  white  or  some 
light  colour.  At  every  door  stands  a  barrel  filled  with 
water,  to  be  ready  in  case  of  fire.  Owing  to  the  great  num 
her  of  fishing-vessels  and  its  considerable  foreign  trade 
Bergen  is  a  much  more  lively  and  bustling  place  than  either 
Christiania  or  Drontheim.  The  streets  are  well  populated, 
and  the  great  square  at  the  head  of  the  harbour  is  always 
thronged  with  a  motley  concourse  of  fishermen,  traders,  and 
country  people.  Drunkenness  seems  to  be  a  leading  vice 
I  saw,  at  least,  fifty  people,  more  or  less  intoxicated,  in  the 
course  of  a  short  walk,  one  afternoon.  The  grog -shops, 
however,  are  rigidly  closed  at  six  o'clock  on  Saturday  even- 
ing, and  remain  so  until  Monday  morning,  any  violation  or 
evasion  of  the  law  being  severely  punished.  The  same  course 
has  been  adopted  here  as  in  Sweden ;  the  price  of  brandy  has 
been  doubled,  by  restrictions  on  its  manufacture,  and  every 
encouragement  has  been  afforded  to  breweries.  The  beer  of 
Christiania  is  equal  in  flavour  and  purity  to  any  in  the  world, 
and  it  is  now  in  great  demand  all  over  Norway. 

The  day  after  our  arrival  the  sky  cleared  again,  and  we 
were  favoured  with  superb  weather ;  which  might  well  be 
the  case,  as  the  people  told  me  it  had  previously  been  rain- 
ing every  day  for  a  month.  The  gardens,  groves,  and  lawna 
of  velvet  turf  so  long  moistened,  now  blazed  out  with  splen- 
did effect  in  the  hot  August  sunshine.  "  Is  there  such  a 
fip-een  anywhere  else  in  the  world  ?"  asked  my  friend.  "  If 
%nywhere,  only  in  Kngland — but  scarcely  there,"  I  was 
•>Miged  to  cor  fess.  Yet  there  was  an  acquaintance  of  mine  ir 


DIMNTIIKIM    AND    RKIUiKN.  33ft 

tfergen,  a  Hammerfest  merchant,  who,  in  this  rare  climax  of 
summer  beauty,  looked  melancholy  and  dissatisfied.  "I 
want  to  yet  back  to  the  north,"  said  he,  "1  miss  our  Arctic 
summer.  These  dark  nights  are  so  disagreeable,  that  I  urn 
very  tired  of  them.  There  is  nothing  equal  to  our  three 
months  of  daylight,  and  they  alone  reconcile  us  to  the  win- 
ter.'' Who  will  say,  after  this,  that  anything  more  than  tht 
fundamental  qualities  of  human  nature  are  the  same  in  all 
climates  ?  But  from  the  same  foundation  you  may  build 
either  a  Grecian  temple  or  a  Chinese  pagoda. 

The  lions  of  Benren  are  soon  disposed  of.  After  yoc 
have  visited  the  fortress  and  admired  the  sturdy  solidity  of 
Walkendorfs  Tower,  you  may  walk  into  the  German  church 
which  stands  open  (or  did,  when  we  were  there),  without  a 
soul  to  prevent  you  from  carrying  off  some  of  the  queer  old 
carved  work  and  pictures.  The  latter  are  hideous  enough 
to  be  perfectly  safe,  and  the  church,  though  exceedingly 
quaint  and  interesting,  is  not  beautiful.  Then  you  may 
visit  the  museum,  which  contains  an  excellent  collection  of 
northern  fish,  and  some  very  curious  old  furniture.  The 
collection  of  antiquities  is  not  remarkable;  but  it  should  be 
remembered  that  the  museum  has  been  created  within  the 
last  twenty  years,  and  is  entirely  the  result  of  private  taste 
and  enterprise.  One  of  the  most  singular  things  I  saw  was 
a  specimen  (said  to  be  the  only  one  in  existence)  of  a  fish 
called  the  "  herring-king,"  about  twelve  feet  in  length  by 
one  in  thickness,  and  with  something  of  the  serpent  in  ita 
appearance.  The  old  Kraaken  has  not  shown  himself  for  a 
number  of  years,  possibly  frightened  away  by  the  appear- 
ance of  steamers  in  his  native  waters.  In  spite  of  all  thf 


340  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

testimony  which  Capell  Brooke  has  collected  in   favour  oi 
his  existence,  he  is  fast  becoming  a  myth. 

Bergen,  we  found,  is  antiquated  in  more  respects  than 
one.  On  sending  for  horses,  on  the  morning  fixed  for  our 
leparture,  we  were  coolly  told  that  we  should  have  to  wait 
twenty-four  hours;  hut  after  threatening  to  put  the  law  in 
force  against  the  skyds-skajfer,  he  promised  to  bring  them 
by  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  In  this  city  of  30,000  inha- 
bitants, no  horses  are  kept  in  readiness  at  the  post-station 
but  are  furnished  by  farmers  somewhere  at  a  distance.  In 
the  matter  of  hotels,  however,  Bergen  stands  in  the  front  rank 
of  pi  ogress,  rivalling  Christiania  and  Drontheim.  The  fare 
is  not  so  good,  and  the  charges  are  equally  high.  There 
are  two  little  inns,  with  five  or  six  rooms  each,  and  one 
boarding-house  of  the  same  size.  We  could  only  get  one 
gmall  room,  into  which  all  three  were  packed,  at  a  charge  of 
a  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  day ;  while  for  two  wretched 
meals  we  paid  a  dollar  and  a  half  each.  The  reader  may 
judge  of  our  fare  from  the  fact  that  one  day  our  soup  wa& 
raspberry  juice  and  water,  and  another  time,  cold  beer,  fla- 
voured with  pepper  and  cinnamon.  Add  tough  beafsteaks 
swimming  in  grease  and  rancid  butter,  and  you  have  the 
principal  ingredients.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  found 
my  digestive  powers  unequal  to  the  task  of  mastering  a 
national  diet. 


A   TKII'  TO  THE  VdBING-FOfW 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

A   TRIP   TO    THE   VORING-FOSS. 

AFTER  waiting  only  five  hours,  we  obtained  threo  horsee 
and  drove  away  from  Bergen.  It  was  a  superb  afternoon, 
spotlessly  blue  overhead,  with  still  bluer  water  below,  and 
hills  of  dark,  velvety  verdure  throbbing  and  sparkling  in 
the  sunshine,  and  the  breezes  from  off  the  fjord.  We  sped 
past  the  long  line  of  suburban  gardens,  through  the  linden 
avenues,  which,  somehow  or  other,  suggested  to  me  the 
days  of  the  Hanseatic  League,  past  Tivoli,  the  Hoboken 
of  Bergen,  and  on  the  summit  of  the  hill  beyond  stopped 
to  take  a  parting  look  at  the  beautiful  city.  She  sat  at  the 
foot  of  her  guardian  mountain,  across  the  lake,  her  white 
towers  and  red  roofs  rising  in  sharp  relief  against  the 
purple  background  of  the  islands  whiJi  protect  her  from 
the  sea.  In  colour,  form,  and  atmospheric  effect,  the  pic- 
ture was  perfect.  Norway  is  particularly  fortunate  in  the 
position  and  surroundings  of  her  three  chief  cities  Bergen 
bears  away  the  palm,  truly,  but  either  of  them  has  few 
rivals  in  Europe. 

Our  road  led  at  first  over  well-cultivated  hills  dotted 


NOilTHEKX    TRAVEL 


with  comfortable  farmhouses—  -a  rolling,  broken  country 
enclosed  by  rugged  and  sterile  groups  of  hills.  Aftei 
some  miles  we  turned  northward  into  a  narrow  valley 
running  parallel  to  the  coast  line.  The  afternoon  sun 
shining  over  the  shoulder  of  the  mountain-ridge  on  out 
left,  illuminated  with  dazzling  effect  the  green  pastures  in 
the  bosom  of  the  valley,  and  the  groves  of  twinkling  birch 
and  sombre  fir  on  the  opposite  slope.  I  have  never  seen 
purer  tints  in  the  sunshine  —  never  a  softer  transparency  in 
the  shadows.  The  landscape  was  ideal  in  its  beauty, 
except  the  houses,  whose  squalor  and  discomfort  were  real. 
Our  first  station  lay  off  the  road,  on  a  hill.  A  very 
friendly  old  man  promised  to  get  us  horses  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, and  his  wife  set  before  us  the  best  fare  the  house 
afforded  —  milk,  oaten  shingles,  and  bad  cheese.  The 
house  was  dirty,  and  the  aspect  of  the  family  bed,  which 
occupied  one  end  of  the  room,  merely  divided  by  boards 
into  separate  compartments  for  the  parents,  children  and 
servants  was  sufficient  to  banish  sleep.  Notwithstanding 
the  poverty  of  the  place,  the  old  woman  set  a  good  value 
upon  her  choice  provender.  The  horses  were  soon  forth- 
coming, and  the  man,  whose  apparent  kindness  increased 
every  moment,  said  to  me,  "Have  I  not  done  well?  Is  it 
not  very  well  that  I  have  brought  you  horses  so  soon  ?" 
1  assented  cheerfully,  but  he  still  repeated  the  same  ques 
tions,  and  I  was  stupid  enough  not  to  discover  their  mean 
ing,  until  he  added  ;  "  I  have  done  everything  so  well, 
that  you  ought  to  erive  me  something  for  it."  The  naive 
manner  of  this  request  made  it  seem  reasonable,  and  I 
gave  him  something  accordingly,  though  a  little  disappoint 


A   TRIP   TO   THE    V6RIX<;-KO>S.  343 

?d,  for  I  had  congratulated  myself  on  finding  at  last  a 
friendly  and  obliging  skyds-skaffer  (Postmaster)  in  Norway 
Towards  evening  we  reached  a  little  village  on  the  shore 
of  the  Osterfjord.  Here  the  road  terminated,  and  a  watei 
station  of  eighteen  miles  in  length  lay  before  us.  The 
fjords  on  the  western  coast  of  Norway  are  narrow,  shut  ir 
by  lofty  and  abrupt  mountains,  and  penetrate  far  into  the 
land — frequently  to  the  distance  of  a  hundred  miles.  The 
general  direction  of  the  valleys  is  parallel  to  the  line  of  the 
coast,  intersecting  the  fjords  at  nearly  a  right  angle,  so  that 
they,  in  connection  with  these  watery  defiles,  divide  the 
mountains  into  immense  irregular  blocks,  with  very  pre- 
cipitous sides  and  a  summit  table-land  varying  from  two  to 
four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level.  For  this  reason 
there  is  no  continuous  road  in  all  western  Norway,  but 
alternate  links  of  land  and  water — boats  and  post-horses. 
The  deepest  fjords  reach  very  nearly  to  the  spinal  ridge  of 
the  mountain  region,  and  a  land-road  from  Bergen  to  this 
line  would  be  more  difficult  to  construct  than  any  of  the 
great  highways  across  the  Alps.  In  proportion  to  her  pop- 
ulation and  means,  Norway  has  done  more  for  roads  than 
any  country  in  the  world.  Not  only  her  main  thorough- 
fares, but  even  her  by-ways,  give  evidence  of  astonishing 
skill,  industry,  and  perseverance.  The  Storthing  has  re- 
cently appropriated  a  sum  of  $188,000  for  the  improvement 
of  roads,  in  addition  to  the  repairs  which  the  farmers  are 
obliged  to  make,  and  which  constitute  almost  their  only  tax 
as  there  is  no  assessment  whatever  upon  landed  property 
There  yeems  a  singular  incongruity,  however,  in  finding  such 
an  evidence  of  the  highest  civilization,  in  connection  with  th< 
i.  etui-barbaric  condition  of  tli*1  £"•  •;!(>.  Generally,  the  im 


344  •  '  ifu.v  TRAVEL 

provement  of  the  means  of  communication  in  a  country  id 
in  the  ratio  of  its  sxnal  progress. 

As  we  were  obliged  to  wait  until  morning  before  com 
mencing  our  voyage,  we  set  about  procuring  supper  and 
lodging.  Some  dirty  beds  in  a  dirty  upper  room  consti- 
tuted the  latter,  but  the  former  was  a  doubtful  affair.  The 
landlord,  who  persisted  in  calling  me  "  Dock,"  made  a 
foraging  excursion  among  the  houses,  and,  after  some  time; 
laid  before  us  a  salted  and  smoked  leg  of  mutton,  some  ran- 
cid butter,  hard  oaten  bread,  and  pestilential  cheese.  I  ate 
as  a  matter  of  duty  towards  my  body,  but  my  companions 
were  less  conscientious.  We  deserve  no  credit  for  having 
risen  early  the  next  morning,  neither  was  there  any  self-de- 
nial in  the  fact  of  our  being  content  with  a  single  cup  of 
coffee.  The  boatmen,  five  in  number,  who  had  been  engaged 
the  evening  before,  took  our  carrioles  apart  and  stowed  them 
in  the  stern,  while  we  three  disposed  ourselves  very  un 
in  the  narrow  bow.  As  we  were  about  pushing  off,  one  oi 
the  men  stepped  upon  a  stone  and  shouted  in  a  loud  voice, 
tt  Come  and  help  us,  fairies  !r — whereat  the  others  laughed 
heartily.  The  wind  was  against  us,  but  I  thought  the  men 
hugged  the  shore  much  more  than  was  necessary.  I  noticed 
the  same  thing  afterwards,  and  spoke  of  it,  but  they  stated 
that  there  were  strong  currents  in  these  fjords,  setting  to- 
wards the  sea.  The  water,  in  fact,  is  but  slightly  brackish, 
*nd  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tides  is  hardly  felt. 

The  scenery  in  the  Ostcrfjord  is  superb  Mountains, 
2000  feet  high,  inclose  and  twist  it  between  their  interlock- 
ing based.  Clifls  of  naked  rock  overhang  it,  and  cataract! 
fall  into  it  in  long  zigzag  chains  of  foam.  Here  and  tb-r« 


A  TK  IP  TO  THE  ToBDCC-FOaB.  3  1  i 

a  irt  tic  embayed  del!  rejoices  with  settlement  and  cultivation 
and  even  on  die  wildest  steeps,  where  it  seems  almost  im- 
possible for  a  human  foot  to  find  hold,  the  people  scramble 
at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  to  reap  a  scanty  harrest  of  grasi 
for  the  whiter.  Goats  pasture  everywhere,  and  our  boat- 
Ben  took  delight  in  making;  the  ewes  follow  as  along  the 
cliils.  by  imitating  the  bleating  of  kids.  Towards  noon  we 
left  the  main  body  of  the  fjord  and  entered  a  narrow  arm 
which  lay  in  eternal  shadow  under  tremendous  walls  of  dark 
rock.  The  light  and  heat  of  noonday  were  tropical  in  their 
silent  intensity,  painting  the  summits  far  above  with  dashes 
of  fierce  colour,  while  their  bases  sank  in  bine  gloom  to  meet 
the  green  darkness  of  the  water.  Again  and  again  the 
heights  enclosed  us,  so  that  there  was  no  outlet:  but  they 
opened  as  if  purposely  to  make  way  for  us,  until  our  keel 
grated  the  pebbly  barrier  of  a  narrow  valley,  where  the  land 
road  was  resumed.  Four  miles  through  this  gap  brought  us 
to  another  branch  of  the  same  fjord,  where  we  were  obliged 
to  have  our  carrioles  taken  to  pieces  and  shipped  for  a  short 
voyage. 

At  its  extremity  the  fjord  narrowed,  and  still  loftier 
mountains  overhung  it.  Shut  in  by  these,  like  some  palmy 
dell  in  the  heart  of  the  porphyry  mountains  of  the  Sahara. 
lay  Bolstaddren,  *  miracle  of  greenness  and  beauty.  A 
.-antic  of  emerald  velvet,  falling  in  the  softest  slopes  and 
swells  to  the  water's  edare,  was  thrown  upon  the  valley :  the 
wley  had  been  cut  and  bound  to  Ion?  upright  poles  to  dry. 
rising  like  golden  pillars  from  the  shaven  stubble;  and,  k 
vrown  all.  aVove  the  landing-place  stood  a  two-story  house, 
with  a  jolly  fat  landlord  smokinr  in  the  shade,  acd  half-a- 


IHORTHERS    TRAVEL 


dozen  pleasant-looking  women  gossipping  in-doors.  '  Cai: 
we  get  anything  to  eat  ?''  was  the  first  question.  "  The 
gentlemen  can  have  fresh  salmon  and  potatoes,  and  red  wine 
if  they  wish  it,"  answered  the  mistress.  Of  course  we 
wished  it  ;  we  wished  for  any  food  clean  enough  to  be  eatable, 
and  the  promise  of  such  fare  was  like  the  falling  of  manna 
n  the  desert.  The  salmon,  fresh  from  the  stream,  was 
particularly  fine  ;  the  fish  here  is  so  abundant  that  the  land 
lord  had  caught  962,  as  he  informed  us,  in  the  course  of  one 
season. 

We  had  but  two  miles  of  land  before  another  sheet  of 
water  intervened,  and  our  ciirrioles  were  a<rain  taken  to 
pieces  The  postillions  and  boatmen  along  this  route  were 
great  scamps,  frequently  asking  more  than  the  legal  fare, 
and  in  one  instance  threatened  to  prevent  us  from  going  on 
unless  we  paid  it.  I  shall  not  bore  the  reader  with  accounts 
of  our  various  little  squabbles  on  the  road,  all  of  which 
tended  more  and  more  to  convince  us,  that  unless  the  Nor- 
wegians were  a  great  deal  more  friendly,  kind,  and  honest 
a  few  years  ago  than  they  are  now,  they  have  been  more 
Dver-praised  than  any  people  in  the  world.  I  must  say, 
however,  that  they  are  bungling  swindlers,  and  could  only 
be  successful  with  the  greenest  of  travellers.  The  moment 
an  imposition  ig  resisted,  and  the  stranger  shows  himself 
familiar  with  the  true  charges  and  methods  of  travel,  they 
give  up  the  attempt  ;  but  the  desire  to  cheat  is  only  less 
annoying  to  one  than  cheating  itself.  The  fees  f  )r  travel- 
ling by  skyds  are,  it  is  true,  disproportionably  low,  and  in 
many  instances  the  obligation  to  furnish  horses  is  no  doubt 
an  actual  loss  to  the  farmer.  Very  often  we  would  have 


A   TRI1>   TO  THE   VoRINC-KOSS. 


willingly  paid  a  small  increase  upon  the  legal  rates  if  it  had 
been  asked  for  as  a  favour  ;  but  when  it  was  boldly  demanded 
as  a  right,  and  backed  by  a  falsehood,  we  went  not  a  stiver 
beyond  the  letter  of  the  law. 

Landing  at  Evanger,  an  intelligent  landlord,  who  ha<* 
ijur  brothers  in  America,  gave  us  return  horses  to  Vosse- 
vangen. and  we  enjoyed  the  long  twilight  of  the  warm  sum- 
mer evening,  while  driving  along  the  hills  which  overlook 
the  valley  connecting  the  lakes  of  Vossevangen  and  Evanger 
It  was  a  lovely  landscape,  ripe  with  harvest,  and  the  air  full 
of  mellow,  balmy  odours  from  the  flowers  and  grain.  The 
black  spire  of  Vossevangen  church,  standing  dark  against 
the  dawning  moonlight,  was  the  welcome  termination  of  our 
long  day's  journey,  and  not  less  welcome  were  our  clean  and 
comfortable  quarters  in  the  house  of  a  merchant  there. 
Here  \\e  left  the  main  road  across  Norway,  and  made  an 
excursion  to  the  V6ring-Foss,  which  lies  beyond  the  Har- 
danger  Fjord,  about  fifty  miles  distant,  in  a  south-eastern 
direction. 

Vossevangen,  in  the  splendour  of  a  cloudless  morning,  was 
even  more  beautiful  than  as  a  moonlit  haven  of  repose. 
The  compact  little  village  lay  half  buried  in  trees,  clustered 
about  the  massive  old  church,  with  its  black,  pointed  tower 
and  roof  covered  with  pitched  shingles,  in  the  centre  of  the 
valley,  while  the  mountains  around  shone  bald  and  bright 
through  floating  veils  of  vapour  which  had  risen  from  the 
fake.  The  people  were  all  at  work  in  the  fields  betimes, 
cutting  and  stacking  the  barley.  The  grass-fields,  cut 
smooth  and  close,  and  of  the  softest  and  evenest  green. 
Bfemed  kept  for  show  rather  than  fur  use.  The  bottrm  <f 


318  NORTHERS   TRAVEL. 

the  valley  along  which  we  drove,  was  filled  with  an  un- 
broken pine  forest,  inclosing  here  and  there  a  lake, 

"  Where  Heaven  itself,  brought  down  to  Earth, 
Seemed  fairer  than  above ;" 

while  the  opposite  mountain  rose  rich  with  harvest  fields 
and  farmhouses.  There  are  similar  landscapes  betweer. 
Fribourg  and  Vevay,  in  Switzerland — finer,  perhaps,  ex- 
cept that  all  cultivated  scenery  in  Norway  gains  wonder- 
fully in  effect  from  the  savage  environment  of  the  barren 
fjelds.  Here,  cultivation  is  somewhat  of  a  phenomenon,  and 
a  rich,  thickly  settled  valley  strikes  one  with  a  certain  sur- 
prise. The  Norwegians  have  been  accused  of  neglecting 
agriculture ;  but  I  do  not  see  that  much  more  could  be  ex- 
pected of  them.  The  subjugation  of  virgin  soil,  as  we  had 
occasion  to  notice,  is  a  serious  work.  At  the  best,  the  grain 
harvests  are  uncertain,  while  fish  are  almost  as  sure  as  the 
season ;  and  so  the  surplus  agricultural  population  either 
emigrates  or  removes  to  the  fishing  grounds  on  the  coast. 
There  is,  undoubtedly,  a  considerable  quantity  of  wild  land 
which  could  be  made  arable,  but  the  same  means,  applied  tc 
the  improvement  of  that  which  is  at  present  under  cultiva- 
tion, would  accomplish  far  more  beneficent  results. 

Leaving  the  valley,  we  drove  for  some  time  through  pint 
forests,  and  here,  as  elsewhere,  had  occasion  to  notice  the 
manner  in  which  this  source  of  wealth  has  been  drained  of 
late  years.  The  trees  were  very  straight  and  beautiful,  but 
there  were  none  of  more  than  middle  age.  All  the  fine  old 
timber  had  been  cut  away;  all  Norway,  in  fact,  haa  been 
despoiled  in  like  manner,  and  the  people  are  but  just  awak 


A  TRIP  TO  THE  V6RING-FOSS. 

mp  to  the  fact,  that  they  are  killing  a  goose  which  lays 
golden  eggs.  The  government,  so  prudently  economical 
that  it  only  allows  $100,000  worth  of  silver  to  be  quarried 
annually  in  the  mines  of  Kongsberg,  lest  the  supply  should 
oe  exhausted,  has,  I  believe,  adopted  measures  for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  forests ;  but  I  am  not  able  to  state  theit 
precise  character.  Except  in  valleys  remote  from  the  rivers 
and  fjords,  one  now  finds  very  little  mature  timber. 

"The  tallest  pine, 

Hewn  on  Norwegian  hills,  to  be  the  mart 
Of  some  great  admiral," 

I  have  not  yet  seen. 

We  at  last  came  upon  a  little  lake,  in  a  close  glen  with 
walls  1000  feet  high.  Not  suspecting  that  we  had  ascend- 
ed much  above  the  sea-level,  we  were  surprised  to  see  the 
gorge  all  at  once  open  below  us,  revealing  a  dark-blue  lake, 
far  down  among  the  mountains.  We  stood  on  the  brink  of 
a  wall,  over  which  the  stream  at  our  side  fell  in  a  "  hank  n 
of  divided  cataracts.  Our  road  was  engineered  with  great 
difficulty  to  the  bottom  of  the  steep,  whence  a  gentler  de- 
scent took  us  to  the  hamlet  of  Vasenden,  at  the  head  of  the 
lake.  Beyond  this  there  was  no  road  for  carrioles,  and  we 
accordingly  gave  ours  in  charge  of  a  bright,  active  and  in- 
telligent little  post-master,  twelve  years  old.  He  and  hia 
mother  then  rowed  us  across  the  lake  to  the  village  rf  Gra- 
ven, whence  there  was  a  bridle-road  across  the  mountains  to 
a  branch  of  the  Hardanger  Fjord.  They  demanded  only 
twelve  ^killings  (ten  cents)  for  the  row  of  three  miles,  and 
16 


350  SOUTHERN   TRAVEL 

then  posted  off  to   a   neighbouring  farmhouse  to  engagt 
horses  for  us. 

There  was  a  neat  white  dwelling  on  the  hill,  which  we 
took  to  be  the  parsonage,  but  which  proved  to  be  the  resi- 
dence of  an  army  captain  on  leave,  whom  we  found  sitting 
in  the  door,  cleaning  his  gun,  as  we  approached.  He  cour- 
teously ushered  us  into  the  house,  and  made  his  appearance 
soon  afterwards  in  a  clean  shirt,  followed  by  his  wife,  with 
wine  and  cakes  upon  a  tray.  I  found  him  to  be  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  intelligence,  and  of  an  earnest  and  reflec 
live  turn  of  mind,  rare  in  men  of  his  profession.  He  spoke 
chiefly  of  the  passion  for  emigration  which  now  possesses 
the  Norwegian  farmers,  considering  it  not  rendered  neces- 
sary by  their  actual  condition,  but  rather  one  of  those  con- 
tagions which  spread  through  communities  and  nations, 
overcoming  alike  prudence  and  prejudice.  He  deplored  if 
as  retarding  the  development  of  Norway.  Personal  in- 
terest, however,  is  everywhere  stronger  than  patriotism,  and 
I  see  no  signs  of  the  emigration  decreasing  for  some  years  to 
some. 

After  waiting  a  considerable  time,  we  obtained  two  horses 
and  a  strapping  farmer's  son  for  guide.  The  fello\v  was 
delighted  to  find  out  where  we  came  from,  and  was  contin- 
ually shouting  to  the  people  in  the  fields :  "  Here  these  are 
\mericans:  they  were  born  there!"  whereat  the  people 
Btared,  saluted,  and  then  stared  again.  He  shouldered  cur 
packs  and  marched  beside  the  horses  with  the  greatest  ease. 
44 You  are  strong,"  I  remarked.  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "Tarn 
ft  strong  Xormand,"  making  his  patriotism  an  excuse  for  his 
personal  pride.  We  had  a  terribly  tough  pull  up  the 


A  TRIP   TO  THE    V6RING-FOSS.  36) 

H.Mintain,  through  fine  woods,  to  the  summit  le\el  cf  thf 
fjeld.  The  view  backwards,  over  the  lake,  was  enchanting 
and  we  lingered  long  on  the  steep,  loth  to  lose  it.  Turning 
again,  a  desolate  lake  lay  before  us,  heathery  swells  of  thf 
bleak  table-land  and  distant  peaks,  touched  with  3now 
Once  upon  the  broad,  level  summit  of  a  Norwegian  fjeld, 
one  would  never  guess  what  lovely  valleys  lie  under  thos* 
misty  breaks  which  separate  its  immense  lobes — what  gashes 
of  life  and  beauty  penetrate  its  stony  heart.  There  are,  in 
fact,  two  Norways:  one  above — a  series  of  detached,  ir- 
regular masses,  bleak,  snowy,  wind-swept  and  heather-grown, 
inhabited  by  herdsmen  and  hunters:  and  one  below — a 
ramification  of  narrow  veins  of  land  and  water,  with  fielde 
and  forests,  highways  and  villages. 

So,  when  we  had  traversed  the  upper  land  for  several 
miles,  we  came  to  a  brink  overlooking  another  branch  of 
the  lower  land,  and  descended  through  thick  woods  to  the 
farms  of  Ulvik,  on  the  Eyfjord,  an  arm  of  the  Hardanger 
The  shores  were  gloriously  beautiful :  slopes  of  dazzling 
turf  inclosed  the  bright  blue  water,  and  clumps  of  oak,  ash 
and  linden,  in  park-like  groups,  studded  the  fields.  Low  red 
farmhouses,  each  with  its  hollow  square  of  stables  and 
granaries,  dotted  the  hill- sides,  and  the  people,  male  and 
female,  were  everywhere  out  reaping  the  ripe  barley  and 
piling  it  pillar-wise,  upon  tall  stakes.  Owing  to  this  cir 
cumstance  we  were  obliged  to  wait  some  time  for  oarsmen. 
There  was  no  milk  to  be  had,  nor  indeed  anything  to  eat 
lotwithstanding  the  signs  of  plenty  on  all  sides.  My  friend, 
wandering  from  house  to  house,  at  last  discovered  an  old 
man,  who  brought  him  a  bowl  of  mead  in  exchange  fur  a 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

cigar.  Late  in  the  afternoon  two  men  came,  put  us  into  a 
shabby  and  leaky  boat,  and  pulled  away  slowly  for  Vik,  ten 
miles  distant. 

The  fjord  was  shut  in  by  lofty  and  abrupt  mountain*, 
ften  interrupted  by  deep  lateral  gorges.  This  is  the 
general  character  of  the  Hardanger  Fjord,  a  oroad  winding 
sheet  of  water,  with  many  arms,  but  whose  extent  is  di- 
minished to  the  eye  by  the  grandeur  of  its  shores.  Nothing 
can  be  wilder  or  more  desolate  than  this  scenery,  especially 
at  the  junction  of  the  two  branches,  where  all  signs  of  habi- 
tation are  shut  out  of  sight,  and  one  is  surrounded  by 
mighty  precipices  of  dark-red  rock,  vanishing  away  to  the 
eastward  in  a  gloomy  defile.  It  was  three  hours  and  a  hall 
before  we  reached  Vik,  at  the  head  of  a  bay  on  the  southern 
side.  Here,  however,  some  English  fishermen  were  quar- 
tered and  we  made  sure  of  a  supper.  The  landlord,  of  course, 
received  their  superfluous  salmon,  and  they  were  not  the 
men  to  spare  a  potato- field,  so  both  were  forthcoming,  and 
in  the  satisfaction  of  appeased  hunger,  we  were  willing  to 
indorse  the  opinion  of  a  former  English  traveller  in  the 
guest's  book  :  "  This  place  seems  to  me  a  paradise,  although 
very  probably  it  is  not  one."  The  luxury  of  fishing,  which 
I  never  could  understand,  has  taught  the  Norwegians  to 
regard  travellers  as  their  proper  prey.  Why  should  a  man, 
they  think,  pay  50/.  for  the  privilege  of  catching  fish,  which 
he  gives  away  as  soon  as  caught,  unless  he  don't  know  how 
else  to  get  rid  of  his  money  ?  Were  it  not  that  fishing  in 
Norway  includes  pure  air,  hard  fare,  and  healthy  exercise,  1 
should  agree  with  somebody's  definition  of  angling,  "  a  rod 
with  a  fly  at  one  end  and  a  fool  at  the  other  ,•"  but  it  id  al1 


A  TRIP  TO  THE   fdRIKO-FOSS.  353 

:hat,  and  besides  furnished  us  with  a  good  meal  more  than 
once;  wherefore  I  respect  it. 

We  were  now  but  eight  miles  from  the  Voring-Foss,  and 
§et  out  betimes  the  next  morning,  taking  with  us  a  bottle  of 
•ed  wine,  some  dry  bread,  and  Peder  Halstensen  as  guide 
I  mention  Peder  particularly,  because  he  is  the  only  jolty 
lively,  wide-awake,  open-hearted  Norwegian  I  have  ever  seen. 
As  rollicking  as  a  Neapolitan,  as  chatty  as  an  Andalusian, 
and  as  fr.ink  as  a  Tyrolese,  he  formed  a  remarkable  contrast 
to  the  men  with  whom  we  had  hitherto  come  in  contact.  He 
had  long  black  hair,  wicked  black  eyes,  and  a  mouth  which 
laughed  even  when  his  face  was  at  rest.  Add  a  capital 
tenor  voice,  a  lithe,  active  frame,  and  something  irresistibly 
odd  and  droll  in  his  motions,  and  you  have  his  principal 
points.  We  walked  across  the  birch-wooded  isthmus  behind 
Vik  to  the  Eyfjordsvand,  a  lake  about  three  miles  long, 
which  completely  cuts  off  the  further  valley,  the  mountains 
on  either  side  falling  to  it  in  sheer  precipices  1000  feet  high. 

We  embarked  in  a  crazy,  leaky  boat,  Peder  pulling  vi- 
gorously and  singing.  "  Frie  dig  ved  lifve"  ("  Life  let  us 
cherish"),  with  all  the  contentment  on  his  face  which  is  ex- 
pressed in  Mozart's  immortal  melody.  "Peder^"  said  I,  "do 
you  know  the  national  song  of  Norway  ?"  "  I  should  think 
so,"  was  his  answer,  stopping  short  in  the  midst  of  a  wild 
fjeld-song,  clearing  his  throat,  and  singing  with  a  fervoui 
and  enthusiasm  which  rang  wide  over  the  lonely  lake  — 

"  Minstrel,  awaken  the  harp  from  its  slumbers, 
Strike  for  old  Norway,  the  land  of  the  free  ! 
High  and  heroic,  in  soul-stirrinjr  numbers, 
Clime  of  our  fathers,  we  strike  it  for  thee! 


354  HORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

Old  recollections  awake  onr  affections — 

Hallow  the  name  of  the  land  of  our  birth  ; 
Each  heart  beats  its  loudest,  each  cheek  glows  its 

For  Norway  the  ancient,  the  throne  of  the  earth  !"  * 

"  Dost  thou  know,"  said  he,  becoming  more  familiar  in  hi* 
\ddress,  "  that  a  lawyer  (by  the  name  of  Bjerregaard)  wrote 
this  song,  and  the  Storthing  at  Christiania  gave  him  a  him 
dred  specie  dollars  for  it.  That  was  not  too  much,  was  it  ?" 
u  No,"  said  1,  "  five  hundred  dollars  would  have  been  little 
enough  for  such  a  song."  "  Yes,  yes,  that  it  would,"  was 
his  earnest  assent ;  and  as  I  happened  at  that  moment  to 
ask  whether  we  could  see  the  peaks  of  the  Hailing  Jokeln, 
he  commenced  a  soeter-song  of  life  on  the  lofty  fjeld — a  song 
of  snow,  and  free  winds,  and  blue  sky.  By  this  time  we 
had  reached  the  other  end  of  the  lake,  where,  in  the  midst  oi 
a  little  valley  of  rich  alluvial  soil,  covered  with  patches  of 
barley  and  potatoes,  stood  the  hamlet  of  Saebo.  Here  Peder 
procured  a  horse  for  my  friend,  and  we  entered  the  mouth  of 
a  sublime  gorge  which  opened  to  the  eastward — a  mere  split 
in  the  mighty  ramparts  of  the  Hardanger-Fjeld.  Peder 
was  continually  shouting  to  the  people  in  the  fields :  "Look 
here !  These  are  Americans,  these  two,  and  the  other  one 
is  a  German  !  This  one  talks  Norsk,  and  the  others  don't." 
We  ascended  the  defile  by  a  rough  footpath,  at  first 
through  alder  thickets,  but  afterwards  over  immense  massea 
uf  rocky  ruin,  which  had  tumbled  from  the  crags  far  above 
and  almost  blocked  up  the  valley.  For  silence,  desolation, 
and  awful  grandeur,  this  defile  equals  any  of  the  Alpine 
passes.  In  the  spring,  when  the  rocks,  split  by  we-Jges  oJ 

'  Latham'*  translation. 


A  TRIP  TO  VORING-FOSS.  355 

ice,  disengage  themselves  from  the  summit,  and  thunder 
down  upon  the  piled  wrecks  )f  ages,  it  must  be  terribly  sub- 
lime. A  bridge,  consisting  of  two  logs  spanned  across  abut- 
ments of  loose  stones,  and  vibrating  strongly  under  our 
tread,  took  us  over  the  torrent.  Our  road,  for  some  distance 
was  now  a  mere  staircase,  scrambling  up,  down,  under,  over 
and  between  the  chaos  of  sundered  rocks.  A  little  fur 
ther,  and  the  defile  shut  in  altogether,  forming  a  cul  de  sac 
of  apparently  perpendicular  walls,  from  2000  to  3000  feet 
high.  "  How  are  we  to  get  out  of  this  ?"  I  asked  Peder. 
u  Yonder,"  said  he,  pointing  to  the  inaccessible  summit  in 
front.  "  But  where  does  the  stream  come  from  ?"  "  That 
you  will  soon  see."  Lo  !  all  at  once  a  clean  split  from  top 
to  bottom  disclosed  itself  in  the  wall  on  our  left,  and  in 
passing  its  mouth  we  had  a  glimpse  up  the  monstrous  chasm, 
whose  dark-blue  sides,  falling  sheer  3000  feet,  vanished  at 
the  bottom  in  eternal  gloom  and  spray. 

Crossing  the  stream  again,  we  commenced  ascending  over 
the  debris  of  stony  avalanches,  the  path  becoming  steeper 
and  steeper,  until  the  far-off  summit  almost  hung  over  our 
heads.  It  was  now  a  zigzag  ladder,  roughly  thrown  together, 
but  very  firm.  The  red  mare  which  my  friend  rode  climbed 
it  like  a  cat,  never  hesitating,  even  at  an  angle  of  50°,  arid 
never  making  a  false  step.  The  performance  of  this  noble 
animal  was  almost  incredible.  I  should  never  have  believed 
a  horse  capable  of  such  gymnastics,  had  I  not  seen  it  with 
my  own  eyes,  had  I  not  mounted  her  myself  at  the  most 
difficult  points,  in  order  to  test  her  powers.  Yon,  who  have 
slimbed  the  Mayeiiwand,  in  going  from  the  glacier  of  the 
Rhons  to  the  Grimsel,  imagine  a  slant  higher,  steeper,  and 


356  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

composed  of  loose  rocks,  and  you  will  have  an  exact  picturt 
of  our  ascent.  We  climbed  well ;  and  yet  it  took  us  just 
an  hour  and  a  half  to  reach  the  summit 

We  were  now  on  the  great  plateau  of  the  Hardangei 
Fjeld,  2500  feet  above  the  sea.  A  wild  region  lay  before  u 
—great  swells,  covered  with  heather,  sweeping  into  the  di*h 
tance  and  given  up  to  solitude  and  silence.  A  few  iso- 
lated peaks,  streaked  with  snow,  rose  from  this  upper  level ; 
and  a  deep  break  on  our  left  revealed  the  top  of  the  chasm 
through  which  the  torrent  made  its  way.  At  its  extremity, 
a  mile  or  more  distant,  rose  a  light  cloud  of  vapour,  seem- 
ing close  at  hand  in  the  thin  mountain  air.  The  thick 
Bpongy  soil,  not  more  than  two  feet  deep,  rests  on  a  solid 
bed  of  rock, — the  entire  Hardanger  Fjeld,  in  fact,  is  but  a 
single  lock, — and  is  therefore  always  swampy.  Whortle- 
berries were  abundant,  as  well  as  the  multeberry  (Rubtts 
chamaemorus),  which  I  have  found  growing  in  Newfound- 
land ;  and  Peder,  running  off  on  the  hunt  of  them,  was  con- 
tinually leading  us  astray.  But  at  last,  we  approached  the 
wreath  of  whirling  spray,  and  heard  the  hollow  roar  oi 
the  Voring-Foss.  The  great  chasm  yawned  before  us  ;  ano- 
ther step,  and  we  stood  on  the  brink.  I  seized  the  branch 
of  a  tough  pine  sapling  as  a  support  and  leaned  over.  My 
bead  did  not  swim  ;  the  height  was  too  great  for  that,  the 
impression  too  grand  and  wonderful.  The  shelf  of  rock 
on  which  I  stood  projected  far  out  over  a  gulf  1200  feet 
Jeep,  whose  opposite  side  rose  in  one  great  escarpment  from 
the  bottom  to  a  height  of  800  feet  above  my  head.  On  this 
black  wall,  wet  with  eternal  spray,  was  painted  a  splendid 
rainbow,  forming  two  thirds  of  a  circle  before  it  melted 


A  TRIP  TO  V6RING-FOSS.  867 

iuto  the  gloom  below.  A  little  stream  fell  in  one  long 
thread  of  silver  from  the  very  summit,  like  a  plumb-line 
dropped  to  measure  the  2000  feet.  On  my  right  hand  the 
river,  coming  down  from  the  level  of  the  fjeld  in  a  torn, 
twisted,  and  boiling  mass,  reached  the  brink  of  the  gulf  at 
a  point  about  400  feet  below  me,  whence  it  fell  in  a  single 
sheet  to  the  bottom,  a  depth  of  between  800  and  900  feet. 

Could  one  view  it  from  below,  this  fall  would  present  on* 
•jf  the  grandest  spectacles  in  the  world.  In  height,  volume 
of  water,  and  sublime  surroundings  it  has  no  equal.  Th» 
spectator,  however,  looks  down  upon  it  from  a  great  height 
above  its  brink,  whence  it  is  so  foreshortened  that  he  can 
only  guess  its  majesty  and  beauty.  By  lying  upon  you* 
belly  and  thrusting  your  head  out  beyond  the  roots  of  the 
pines,  you  can  safely  peer  into  the  dread  abyss,  and  watch, 
through  the  vortex  of  whirling  spray  in  its  tortured  womb, 
the  starry  coruscations  which  radiate  from  the  bottom  of  thy 
fall,  like  roekets  of  water  incessantly  exploding.  But  thii 
view,  sublime  as  it  is,  only  whets  your  desire  to  stand  below; 
and  see  the  river,  with  its  sprayey  crest  shining  against  the 
sky,  make  but  one  leap  from  heaven  to  hell.  Some  persons 
have  succeeded,  by  entering  the  chasm  at  its  mouth  in  the 
valley  below,  in  getting  far  enough  to  see  a  portion  of  the 
fall,  the  remainder  being  concealed  by  a  projecting  rock  ; 
and  the  time  will  come,  no  doubt,  when  somebody  will  have 
energy  enough  to  carry  a  path  to  its  very  foot.  I  envy  thi 
travellers  who  will  then  visit  the  Voring-Foss. 

A  short  distance  above  the  fall  there  are  a  few  cabins  in 
habited  by  soaters,  or  herdsmen,  whither  we  repaired  to  pro 

cure  some  fresh  milk.     The  house  was  rude  and  dirty  :  bui 
16* 


358  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

the  people  received  us  in  a  friendly  manner.  The  powerful 
housewife  laid  aside  her  hay-rake,  and  brought  us  milk 
which  was  actually  sweet  (a  rare  thing  in  Norway,)  dirty, 
but  not  rancid  butter,  and  tolerable  cheese.  When  my  friend 
asked  for  water,  she  dipped  a  pailful  from  a  neighbouring 
stream,  thick  with  decayed  moss  and  vegetable  mould,  and 
handed  it  to  him.  He  was  nice  enough  to  pick  out  a  rotten 
root  before  drinking,  which  one  of  the  children  snatched  up 
from  the  floor  and  ate.  Yet  these  people  did  not  appear  to 
be  in  want ;  they  were  healthy,  cheerful,  and  contented  ;  and 
their  filthy  manner  of  living  was  the  result  of  sheer  indo- 
lence and  slovenliness.  There  was  nothing  to  prevent  them 
from  being  neat  and  comfortable,  even  with  their  scanty 
means ;  but  the  good  gifts  of  God  are  always  spoiled  and 
wasted  in  dirty  hands. 

When  we  opened  our  bottle  of  wine,  an  exquisite  aroma 
diffused  itself  through  the  room — a  mingled  smell  of  vine 
blossoms  and  ripe  grapes.  How  could  the  coarse  vintage 
sent  to  the  North,  watered  and  chemically  doctored  as  it  is, 
produce  such  a  miracle  ?  We  tasted — superb  old  Chateau 
Latour,  from  the  sunniest  hill  of  Bordeaux !  By  whatevei 
accident  it  had  wandered  thither,  it  did  not  fall  into  unap- 
preciative  hands.  Even  Brita  Hal-^tendsdatter  Hoi,  the 
strong  housewife,  smacked  her  lips  over  the  glass  which  she 
drank  after  sitting  to  me  for  her  portrait. 

When  the  sketch  was  completed,  we  filled  the  empty 
bottle  with  milk  and  set  out  on  our  return. 


8UTOHK8    FROM    THB   BKRGEflBTUT.  35 Q 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

SKETCHES   FROM   THE   BERGEN8TIFT. 

Quv  return  from  the  Voring-Foss  to  the  hamlet  of  Saebfi 
wras  accomplished  without  accident  or  particular  incident. 
As  we  were  crossing  the  Eyfjordsvand,  the  stillness  of  the 
savage  glen,  yet  more  profound  in  the  dusk  of  evening,  was 
broken  by  the  sudden  thunder  of  a  slide  in  some  valley  to 
the  eastward.  Peder  stopped  in  the  midst  of  "Frie  dig  ved 
lifvet"  and  listened.  "  Ho !"  said  he,  "  the  spring  is  the 
time  when  the  rocks  come  down,  but  that  sounds  like  a  big 
fellow,  too."  Peder  was  not  so  lively  on  the  way  back,  not 
because  he  was  fatigued,  for  in  showing  us  how  they  danced 
on  the  fjeld,  he  flung  himself  into  the  air  in  a  marvellous 
manner,  and  turned  over  twice  before  coming  down,  but 
partly  because  he  had  broken  our  bottle  of  milk,  and  partly 
because  there  was  something  on  his  mind.  I  waited  patient- 
ly, knowing  that  it  would  come  out  at  last,  as  indeed  it  did 
"You  see,"  said  he,  hesitatingly,  "some  travellers  give  a 
drink-money  to  the  guide.  It  is  n't  an  obligation,  you 
know ;  but  then  some  give  it.  Now,  if  you  should  choose 
to  give  me  anything,  do  n't  pay  it  to  the  landlord  for  me. 
oecause  then  I  won't  get  it  You  are  not  bound  to  do  so 


360  NORTHERN  TRAVTJ, 

you  know  but  some  travellers  do  it,  and  I  do  n't  know  bu1 
you  might  also.  Now.  if  you  should,  give  it  directly  to  mej 
and  then  I  will  have  it."  When  we  reached  Vik,  we  called 
Peder  aside  and  gave  him  three  marks.  "  Oh,  you  must 
pay  your  bill  to  the  landlord,"  said  he.  "  But  that  is  your 
drink-money,"  I  explained.  "  That  ?"  he  exclaimed ;  **  it  is 
not  possible !  Frie  dig  ved  lifvet"  <fec.,  and  so  he  sana;,  cut 
a  pigeon-wing  or  two,  and  proceeded  to  knot  and  double 
knot  the  money  in  a  corner  of  his  pocket-handkerchief. 

*'  Come  and  take  a  swim  !"  said  Peder,  reappearing.  "  1 
can  swim  ever  since  t  fell  into  the  water.  I  tumbled  off  the 
pier,  you  must  know,  and  down  I  went.  Everything  became 
black  before  my  eyes ;  and  I  thought  to  myself,  '  Peder,  this 
is  the  end  of  you.'  But  I  kicked  and  splashed  nevertheless, 
until  my  eyes  opened  again,  wide  enough  to  see  where  a  rope 
was.  Well,  after  I  found  I  could  fall  into  the  water  without 
drowning,  I  was  not  afraid  to  swim.'*  In  fact,  Peder  now 
swam  very  well,  and  floundered  about  with  great  satisfaction 
in  the  ice  cold  water.  A  single  plunge  was  all  I  could  endure 
After  supper  the  landlady  came  in  to  talk  to  me  about 
America.  She  had  a  son  in  California,  and  a  daughter  in 
Wisconsin,  and  showed  me  their  daguerrotypes  and  some  bits 
of  gold  with  great  pride.  She  was  a  stout,  kindly,  motherly 
body,  and  paid  especial  attention  to  our  wants  on  finding 
where  we  came  from.  Indeed  we  were  treated  in  the  most 
friendly  manner  by  these  good  people,  and  had  no  reason  to 
complain  of  our  reckoning  on  leaving.  This  experience 
confirms  me  in  the  belief  that  honesty  and  simplicity  may 
itill  be  characteristics  of  the  Norwegians  in  the  more  remote 
parts  of  the  country. 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE  BERGENSTIFT  3(j] 

We  bade  a  cordial  farewell  to  Vik  next  morning,  and  set 
off  on  our  return,  in  splendid  sunshine.  Peder  was  in  the 
boat,  rejoiced  to  be  with  us  again ;  and  we  had  no  sooner 
gotten  under  way,  than  he  began  singing,  "  Frie  dig-  vcd 
lifvet."  It  was  an  intensely  hot  day,  and  the  shores  of  Ulvik 
were  perfectly  dazzling.  The  turf  had  a  silken  gloss  ;  tht 
trees  stood  darkly  and  richly  green,  and  the  water  was 
purest  sapphire.  "  It  is  a  beautiful  bay,  is  it  not  ?"  said  the 
fanner  who  furnished  us  with  horses,  after  we  had  left  the 
boat  and  were  slowly  climbing  the  fjeld.  I  thought  I  had 
never  seen  a  finer ;  but  when  heaven  and  earth  are  in  entire 
narmony,  when  form,  colour  and  atmosphere  accord  like 
some  rich  swell  of  music,  whatever  one  sees  is  perfect. 
Hence  I  shall  not  say  how  beautiful  the  bay  of  Ulvik  was  to 
me,  since  under  other  aspects  the  description  would  not  be 
true. 

The  farmer's  little  daughter,  however,  who  came  along  to 
take  back  one  of  the  horses,  would  have  been  a  pleasant  ap- 
parition at  any  time  and  in  any  season.  She  wore  her 
Sunday  dress,  consisting  of  a  scarlet  bodice  over  a  white 
chemise,  green  petticoat,  and  white  apron,  while  her  shining 
flaxen  hair  was  plaited  into  one  long  braid  with  narrow 
strips  of  crimson  and  yellow  cloth  and  then  twisted  like  a 
garland  around  her  head.  She  was  not  more  than  twelve  or 
thirteen  years  old.  but  tall,  straight  as  a  young  pine,  and 
beautifully  formed,  with  the  promise  of  early  maidenhood  in 
the  gentle  swell  of  her  bosom.  Her  complexion  was  lovely 
—pink,  brightened  with  sunburnt  gold, — and  her  eyes  like 
the  blossoms  of  the  forget-me-not,  in  hue.  In  watching  hei 
firm  yet  graceful  tread,  as  she  easily  kept  pace  with  *hi 


362  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

horse,  1  could  not  realise  that  in  a  few  more  years  she  woulfl 
probably  be  no  more  graceful  and  beautiful  than  the  womer 
at  work  in  the  fields — coarse,  clumsy  shapes,  with  frowzy 
air,  leathery  faces,  and  enormous  hanging  breasts. 

In  the  Bergenstift,  however,  one  sometimes  sees  a  pretty 
face;  and  the  natural  grace  of  the  form  is  not  always  lost 
About  Vossevangen,  for  instance,  the  farmers'  daughters  are 
often  quite  handsome;  but  beauty,  either  male  or  female,  ig 
in  Norway  the  rarest  apparition.  The  grown-up  women, 
especially  after  marriage,  are  in  general  remarkably  plain. 
Except  among  some  of  the  native  tribes  of  Africa,  I  have 
nowhere  seen  such  overgrown,  loose,  pendant  breasts  as 
among  them.  This  is  not  the  case  in  Sweden,  where,  if 
there  are  few  beauties,  there  are  at  least  a  great  many  pass 
able  faces.  There  are  marked  differences  in  the  blood  of  the 
two  nations ;  and  the  greater  variety  of  feature  and  com- 
plexion in  Norway  seems  to  indicate  a  less  complete  fusion 
of  the  original  stocks. 

We  were  rowed  across  the  Graven  Lake  by  an  old  farmer, 
who  wore  the  costume  of  the  last  century, — a  red  coat,  a  la 
Frederic  the  Great,  long  waistcoat,  and  white  knee-breeches. 
He  demanded  double  the  lawful  fare,  which,  indeed,  was 
shamefully  small ;  and  we  paid  him  without  demur.  At 
Vasenden  we  found  our  carrioles  and  harness  in  good  con- 
dition, nothing  having  been  abstracted  except  a  ball  of  twine. 
Horses  were  in  waiting,  apparently  belonging  to  some  well- 
to-do  farmer ;  for  the  bays  were  well  dressed,  and  took 
especial  care  of  them.  We  reached  the  merchant's  comforta- 
ble residence  at  Vossevangen  before  sunset,  and  made  amends 


SKETCHES   FROM   THE   BER(JENSTIFT.  36i5 

Dn  his  sumptuous  fare  for  the  privations  of  the  past  thre« 
days. 

We  now  resumed  the  main  road  between  Christiania  and 
Bergen.  The  same  cloudless  days  continued  to  dawn  upon 
\is  For  one  summer,  Norway  had  changed  climates  with 
Spain.  Our  oil- cloths  were  burnt  up  and  cracked  by  the 
heat,  our  clothes  covered  with  dust,  and  our  faces  became  a£ 
brown  as  those  of  Bedouins.  For  a  week  we  had  not  a 
cloud  in  the  sky ;  the  superbly  clear  days  belied  the  old  say 
ing  of  "  weather- breeders." 

Our  road,  on  leaving  Vossevangen,  led  through  pine- 
forests,  following  the  course  of  a  stream  up  a  wild  valley, 
enclosed  by  lofty  mountains.  Some  lovely  cataracts  fell 
from  the  steep  on  our  left ;  but  this  is  the  land  of  cataracts 
and  there  is  many  a  one,  not  even  distinguished  by  a  name, 
which  would  be  renowned  in  Switzerland.  I  asked  my 
postillion  the  name  of  the  stream  beside  us.  "  Oh,"  said  he; 
'it  has  none;  it  is  not  big  enough!"  He  wanted  to  take 
us  all  the  way  through  to  Gudvangen.  twenty-eight  miles," 
on  our  paying  double  fare,  predicting  that  we  would  b« 
obliged  to  wait  three  hours  for  fresh  horses  at  each  interme- 
diate station.  He  waited  some  time  at  Tvinde,  the  first 
station,  in  the  hope  that  we  would  yield,  but  departed  sud- 
denly in  a  rage  on  seeing  that  the  horses  were  already  com- 
ing. At  this  place,  a  stout  young  fellow,  who  had  evidently 
Deen  asleep,  came  out  of  the  house  and  stood  in  the  door 
btaring  at  us  with  open  mouth  for  a  full  hour.  The  post 
master  sat  on  the  step  and  did  likewise.  It  was  the  height 
of  harvest-time,  and  the  weather  favourable  almost  to  a 
miracle;  yet  most  of  the  harvesters  lay  upon  their  backa 


864  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

under  the  trees  as  we  passed.  The  women  appeared  to  d* 
most  of  the  out-door,  as  well  as  the  inn-door  work.  Thej 
are  certainly  far  more  industrious  than  the  men,  who,  judg 
ing  from  what  I  saw  of  them,  are  downright  indolent 
Evidences  of  slow,  patient,  plodding  toil,  one  sees  truly ;  but 
active  industry,  thrift,  and  honest  ambition,  nowhere. 

The  scenery  increased  in  wildness  and  roughness  as  we 
proceeded.  The  summit  of  Hvitnaset  (White-nose)  lifted 
its  pinnacles  of  grey  rock  over  the  brow  of  the  mountains  on 
the  north,  and  in  front,  pale,  blue-grey  peaks,  5000  feet  high, 
appeared  on  either  hand.  The  next  station  was  a  village 
of  huts  on  the  side  of  a  hill.  Everybody  was  in  the  fields 
except  one  woman,  who  remained  to  take  charge  of  the  sta- 
tion. She  was  a  stupid  creature,  but  had  a  proper  sense  of 
her  duty ;  for  she  started  at  full  speed  to  order  horses,  and 
we  afterwards  found  that  she  must  have  run  full  three 
English  miles  in  the  space  of  half  an  hour.  The  emigra- 
tion to  America  from  this  part  of  Bergenstift  has  been  very 
great,  and  the  people  exhibited  much  curiosity  to  see  and 
speak  with  us. 

The  scenery  became  at  the  same  time  more  barren  and 
more  magnificent,  as  we  approached  the  last  station,  Stal- 
heim,  which  is  a  miserable  little  village  at  the  head  of  the 
famous  NaerSdal.  Our  farmer-postillion  wished  to  take  us 
on  to  Gudvangen  with  the  same  horses,  urging  the  same  rea- 
sons as  the  former  one.  It  would  have  been  better  if  we 
had  accepted  his  proposal ;  but  our  previous  experience  had 
made  us  mistrustful.  The  man  spoke  truth,  however  •  houi 
after  hour  passed  away,  and  the  horses  came  not.  A  few 
miserable  people  collected  about  as,  and  begged  money.  1 


SKETCHES   FROM  THE   BERGKNSTIFT.  365 

sketched  the  oldest,  ugliest  and  dirtiest  of  them,  as  a  speci- 
men, but  regretted  it  afterwards,  as  his  gratitude  on  receiv 
ing  a  tritie  for  sitting,  obliged  me  to  give  him  my  hand 
Hereupon  another  old  fellow,  not  quite  so  hideous,  wanted 
to  be  taken  also.  "  Lars."  said  a  woman  to  the  former,  ''art 
you  not  ashamed  to  have  so  ugly  a  face  as  yours  go  to 
America?"  "  Oh,-'  said  he,  "  it  does  not  look  so  ugly  in  the 
book."  His  delight  on  getting  the  money  created  some 
amusement.  "  Indeed,"  he  protested,  "  I  am  poor,  and  want 
it ;  and  you  need  not  laugh." 

The  last  gush  of  sunset  was  brightening  the  tops  of  the 
savage  fjeld  when  the  horses  arrived.  We  had  waited  two 
hours  and  three  quarters  and  I  therefore  wrote  a  complaint 
in  the  post-book  in  my  best  Norsk.  From  the  top  of  a  hill 
beyond  the  village,  we  looked  down  into  the  Naerodal.  We 
stood  on  the  brink  of  a  tremendous  wall  about  a  thousand 
feet  above  the  valley.  On  one  side,  the  stream  we  had  been 
following  fell  in  a  single  cascade  400  feet ;  on  the  other,  a 
second  stream,  issuing  from  some  unseen  defile.,  flung  it? 
several  ribbons  of  foam  from  nearly  an  equal  height 
The  valley,  or  rather  gorge,  disappeared  in  front  between 
mountains  of  sheer  rock,  which  rose  to  the  height  of  3000 
feet.  The  road— a  splendid  specimen  of  engineering — wag 
doubled  back  and  forth  around  the  edge  of  a  spur  projecting 
from  the  wall  on  which  we  stood,  and  so  descended  to  the 
ottom.  Once  below,  our  carrioles  rolled  rapidly  down  the 
gorge,  which  was  already  dusky  with  twilight.  The  stream, 
of  the  most  exquisite  translucent  azure-green  colour,  rolled 
between  us;  and  the  mo  in  tain  crests  towered  BO  far  above, 
that  our  necks  ached  as  we  looked  upwards,  I  have  peer 


366  NORTHERN  TRAVEL 

but  one  valley  which  in  depth  and  sublimity  can  equal  the 
Naerdol — the  pass  of  the  Taurus,  in  Asia  Minor,  leading 
from  CappadociaintoCilicia.  In  many  places  the  precipices 
were  2000  feet  in  perpendicular  height ;  and  the  streams  of 
the  upper  fjeld,  falling  from  the  summits,  lost  themselves 
in  evanescent  water-dust  before  they  reached  the  bottom 
The  bed  of  the  valley  was  heaped  with  fragments  of  rock ; 
which  are  loosed  from  above  with  every  returning  spring. 

It  was  quite  dark  before  we  reached  Gudvangen,  thor- 
oughly tired  and  as  hungry  as  wolves.  My  postillion,  on 
hearing  me  complain,  pulled  a  piece  of  dry  mutton  out  of 
nis  pocket  and  gave  it  to  me.  He  was  very  anxious  to  learn 
whether  brandy  and  tobacco  were  as  dear  in  America  as  in 
Norway  ;  if  so,  he  did  not  wish  to  emigrate.  A  stout  girl  had 
charge  of  Braisted's  horse  ;  the  female  postillions  always  fell 
to  his  lot.  She  complained  of  hard  work  and  poor  pay,  and 
would  emigrate  if  she  had  the  money.  At  Gudvangen 
we  had  a  boat  journey  of  thirty-five  miles  before  us,  and 
therefore  engaged  two  boats  with  eight  oarsmen  for  the  mor- 
row. The  people  tried  hard  to  make  us  take  more,  but  we 
had  more  than  the  number  actually  required  by  law,  and,  as 
it  turned  out,  quite  as  many  as  were  necessary.  Travellers 
srenerally  supply  themselves  with  brandy  for  the  use  of  their 
ooatmen,  from  an  idea  that  they  will  be  stubborn  and  dilatory 
without  it.  We  did  so  in  no  single  instance ;  yet  our  men 
were  always  steady  and  cheerful. 

We  shipped  our  carrioles  and  sent  them  off  in  the  larger 
boat,  delaying  our  own  departure  until  we  had  fortified  our- 
selves with  a  good  breakfast,  and  laid  in  some  hard  bread 
Mid  pork  omelette,  for  the  day.  The  Gudvangen  Fjord 


SKETCHES   FROM   THE   BERGEN  ST1FT.  36? 

down  which  we  new  glided  over  the  glassy  water  is  a  nar- 
row mountain  avenue  of  glorious  scenery.  The  unseen 
plateaus  of  theBlaa  and  Graa  Fjelds,  on  either  hand,  spilled 
their  streams  over  precipices  from  1000  to  2000  feet  in  height, 
above  whose  cornices  shot  the  pointed  summits  of  bare  grej 
rock,  wreathed  in  shifting  clouds,  4000  feet  above  the  sea 
Pine-trees  feathered  the  less  abrupt  steeps,  with  patches  of 
dazzling  turf  here  and  there;  and  wherever  a  gentler  slope 
could  be  found  in  the  coves,  stood  cottages  surrounded  by 
potato-fields  and  ripe  barley  stacked  on  poles.  Not  a  breath 
of  air  rippled  the  dark  water,  which  was  a  perfect  mirror  to 
the  mountains  and  the  strip  of  sky  between  them,  while 
broad  sheets  of  morning  sunshine,  streaming  down  the  breaks 
in  the  line  of  precipices,  interrupted  with  patches  of  fiery 
colour  the  deep,  rich,  transparent  gloom  of  the  shadows. 
It  was  an  enchanted  voyage  until  we  reached  the  mouth  of 
the  Aurlands  Fjord,  divided  from  that  of  Gudvangen  by  a 
single  rocky  buttress  1000  feet  high.  Beyond  this  point 
the  watery  channel  is  much  broader,  and  the  shores  diminish 
in  grandeur  as  they  approach  the  Sogne  Fjord,  of  which 
this  is  but  a  lateral  branch. 

I  was  a  little  disappointed  in  the  scenery  of  Sogne  Fjord. 
The  mountains  which  enclose  it  are  masses  of  sterile  rock, 
neither  lofty  nor  bold  enough  in  their  forms  to  make  im 
pression.  after  the  unrivalled  scenery  through  which  we  had 
passed.  The  point  of  Vangnaes,  a  short  distance  to  the 
westward,  is  the  "Framnaes''  of  Frithiofs  Saga,  and  I 
therefore  looked  towards  it  with  some  interest,  for  the  sake 
of  that  hero  and  his  northern  lily,  Ingeborg.  There  are 
many  bauta -stones  still  standing  on  the  shore,  but  one  who 


3  68  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

is  familiar  with  Tegner's  poem  must  not  except  to  find  his 
descriptions  verified,  either  in  scenery  or  tradition.  On 
turning  eastward,  around  the  point  of  Fronningen,  we  were 
surprised  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  two  handsome  houses, 
with  orchards  and  gardens,  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  bank. 
The  vegetation,  protected  in  some  degree  from  the  sea-winds, 
was  wonderfully  rich  and  luxuriant.  There  were  now  oc- 
casional pine-woods  on  the  southern  shore,  but  the  general 
aspect  of  this  fjord  is  bleak  and  desolate.  In  the  heat  and 
breathless  silence  of  noonday,  the  water  was  like  solid 
crystal.  A  faint  line,  as  if  drawn  with  a  pencil  along  the 
bases  of  the  opposite  mountains,  divided  them  from  the 
equally  perfect  and  palpable  mountains  inverted  below  them. 
In  the  shadows  near  us,  it  was  quite  impossible  to  detect 
the  boundary  between  the  substance  and  its  counterpart 
In  the  afternoon  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  northern  arms 
of  the  fjord,  which  strike  into  the  heart  of  the  wildest  and 
grandest  region  of  Norway  ;  the  valley  of  Justedal,  with  its 
tremendous  glaciers,  the  snowy  teeth  of  the  Hurunger,  aud 
the  crowning  peaks  of  the  Skagtolstind.  Our  course  lay 
down  the  other  arm,  to  Laerdalsoren,  at  the  head  of  the 
fjord.  By  five  o'clock  it  came  in  sight,  at  the  mouth  of 
a  valley  opening  through  the  barren  flanks  on  the  Fille 
Fjeld.  We  landed,  after  a  voyage  of  ten  hours,  and  found 
welcome  signs  of  civilisation  in  a  neat  but  exorbitant  inn. 

Our  boatmen,  with  the  exception  of  stopping  half  an 
hour  for  breakfast,  had  pulled  steadily  the  whole  time.  We 
bad  no  cause  to  be  dissatisfied  with  them,  while  they  were 
delighted  witn  the  moderate  gratuity  we  gave  them.  They 
were  tough,  well-made  fellows,  possessing  a  considerable 


SKETCHES     FROM   THE   BEJMSErtSTIFT.  359 

Amount  of  endurance,  but  less  actual  strength  th  in  one  would 
suspect.  Braisted,  who  occasionally  tried  his  hand  at  ac 
oar,  could  pull  them  around  with  the  greatest  ease.  English 
travellers  whom  I  have  met  inform  me  that  in  almost  every 
trial  they  find  themselves  stronger  than  the  Norwegians. 
This  is  probably  to  be  accounted  for  by  their  insufficient 
nourishment.  Sour  milk  and  oaten  bread  never  yet  fed  an 
athlete.  The  proportions  of  their  bodies  would  admit  oi 
fine  muscular  development ;  and  if  they  cannot  do  what  theii 
Viking  ancestors  once  did,  it  is  because  they  no  longer  1m 
upon  the  spoils  of  other  lands,  as  they. 


370  NORTHERN    TRAVFII. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

HAI.L1XGDAL THE    COUNTRY-PEOPLE    OF    NORWAY. 

THERE  are  two  roads  from  LaerdalsSren  to  Christiama 
the  eastern  one  passing  through  the  districts  of  Valders  and 
Hadeland,  by  way  of  the  Little  MiSsen  Lake  and  the  Rands- 
fjord,  while  the  western,  after  crossing  the  Fille  Fjeld,  de- 
scends the  long  Hallingdal  to  Ringerike.  In  point  of 
scenery  there  is  little  difference  between  them  ;  but  as  we 
intended  visiting  the  province  of  Tellemark,  in  Southern 
Norway,  we  chose  the  latter.  The  valley  of  the  Fille  Fjeld^ 
which  we  entered  on  leaving  LasrdalsSren,  is  enclosed  by 
wild,  barren  mountains,  more  isolated  and  irregular  in  their 
forms  than  the  Hardanger  and  Dovre  Fjelds.  There  were 
occasional  precipices  and  dancing  waterfalls,  but  in  general 
the  same  tameness  and  monotony  we  had  found  on  the  Sogne 
Fjord.  Down  the  bed  of  the  valley  flowed  a  large  rapid 
Stream,  clear  as  crystal,  and  of  a  beautiful  beryl  tint.  The 
cultivation  was  scanty  ;  and  the  potato  fields,  utterly  ruined 
by  disease,  tainted  the  air  with  sickening  effluvia.  Th 
occasional  forests  on  the  hillsides  were  of  fir  and  birch,  while 
poplar,  ash,  and  linden  grew  in  the  valley.  The  only  fruit 
trees  I  saw  were  some  sour  red  cherries. 


HALLINGDAL— THE  COUXTRV  PEOPLE  OP   NORWAY  371 

But  in  the  splendour  of  the  day.  this  unfriendly  valley 
shone  like  a  dell  of  the  Apennines.  Not  a  cloud  disturbed 
the  serenity  of  the  sky;  the  brown  grass  and  yellow  moss 
on  the  mountains  were  painted  with  sunny  gold,  and  the 
gloss  and  sparkle  of  the  foliage  equalled  that  of  the  Italian 
ibx  and  laurel.  On  the  second  stage  a  new  and  superb 
road  carried  us  through  the  rugged  defile  of  Saltenaaset. 
This  pass  is  evidently  the  effect  of  some  mighty  avalanche 
thousands  of  ages  ago.  The  valley  is  blocked  up  by  tre- 
mendous masses  of  rock,  hurled  one  upon  the  other  in  the 
wildest  confusion,  while  the  shattered  peaks  from  which  they 
fell  still  tower  far  above.  Threading  this  chaos  in  the  sha- 
dow of  the  rocks,  we  looked  across  the  glen  upon  a  braided 
chain  of  foam,  twisted  together  at  the  end  into  a  long  white 
cascade,  which  dropped  into  the  gulf  below.  In  another 
place,  a  rainbow  meteor  suddenly  flashed  across  the  face  of  a 
dark  crag,  betraying  the  dusty  spray  of  a  fall,  else  invisible. 

On  the  third  stage  the  road,  after  mounting  a  difficult 
steep,  descended  into  the  valley  of  Borgund,  in  which  stands 
most  probably  the  most  ancient  church  in  Norway.  It  is  a 
singular,  fantastic  structure,  bristling  with  spiky  spires  and 
covered  with  a  scale  armour  of  black  pitched  shingles.  It  is 
certainly  of  no  more  recent  date  than  the  twelfth  century, 
and  possibly  of  the  close  of  the  eleventh.  The  architecture 
shows  the  Byzantine  style  in  the  rounded  choir  and  the 
arched  galleries  along  the  sides,  the  Gothic  in  the  windows 
and  pointed  gables,  and  the  horned  ornaments  on  the  roof 
suggest  the  pagan  temples  of  the  ante-Christian  period.  A 
more  grotesque  affair  could  hardly  be  found  in  Christendom ; 
it  could  only  be  matched  among  the  monstrosities  of  Chinese 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

art.  With  the  exception  of  the  church  of  Hitterdal,  in 
Tellemark,  a  building  of  similar  date,  this  is  the  best  pre- 
served of  the  few  antiquities  of  Norway.  The  entire  absenc* 
rf  feudal  castles  is  a  thing  to  be  noticed.  Serfdom  never 
.listed  here,  and  one  result  of  this  circumstance,  perhaps,  is 
the  ease  with  which  institutions  of  a  purely  republican  stamp 
have  been  introduced. 

Our  road  still  proceeded  up  the  bottom  of  a  rough  barren 
valley  crossing  stony  headlands  on  either  side.  At  the 
station  of  Haug  our  course  turned  to  the  south-east,  climb- 
ing a  slope  leading  to  the  plateau  of  the  Fille  Fjeld — a 
severe  pull  for  our  horses  in  the  intense  heat.  The  birch 
woods  gradually  diminished  in  size  until  they  ceased  alto- 
gether, and  the  naked  plain  stretched  before  us.  In  this 
upper  land  the  air  was  delicious  and  inspiring.  We  were 
more  than  3000  feet  above  the  sea,  but  the  summits  to  the 
right  and  left,  with  their  soft  gleams  of  pale  gray,  lilac  and 
purple  hues  in  the  sunshine,  and  pure  blue  in  shadow,  rose 
to  the  height  of  6000.  The  heat  of  the  previous  ten  days 
had  stripped  them  bare  of  snow,  and  the  landscape  was  drear 
and  monotonous.  The  summits  of  the  Norwegian  Fjelde 
have  only  the  charm  of  wildness  and  bleakness.  I  doubt 
whether  any  mountains  of  equal  height  exhibit  less  grandeui 
in  their  upper  regions.  The  most  imposing  features  of 
Norwegian  scenery  are  its  deep  valleys,  its  tremendous  gorges 
with  their  cataracts,  flung  like  banners  from  steeps  which 
Beem  to  lean  against  the  very  sky,  and,  most  of  all,  its  wind- 
ing, labryrinthine  fjords — valleys  of  the  sea,  in  which  the 
phenomena  of  the  valleys  of  the  land  are  repeated.  I  found 


HALLINGOAL.— THl   COUNTRY-PEOPLE  OF  NORWAY.  373 

no  scenery  in  the  Bergenstift  of  so  original  and  impressive 
it  character  as  that  of  the  Lofoden  Isles. 

The  day  was  Sunday,  and  we,  of  course,  expect  to  see 
iome  evidence  of  it  in  the  appearance  of  the  people.  Yet, 
during  the  whole  day,  we  found  but  one  clean  person — the 
hostess  of  an  inn  on  the  summit  of  Fille  Fjeld,  where  we 
stopped  to  bait  our  horses.  She  was  a  young  fresh-faced 
woman,  in  the  first  year  of  her  wifehood,  and  her  snowy 
chemise  and  tidy  petticoat  made  her  shine  like  a  star  among 
the  dirty  and  frowzy  creatures  in  the  kitchen.  I  should  not 
forget  a  boy,  who  was  washing  his  face  in  a  brook  as  we 
passed ;  but  he  was  young,  and  didn't  know  any  better- 
Otherwise  the  people  lounged  about  the  houses,  or  sat  on 
the  rocks  in  the  sun,  filthy,  and  something  else,  to  judge 
from  certain  signs.  At  Haug,  forgetting  that  it  was  a  fast 
station,  where  there  is  no  tilsigelse  (money  for  ordering 
horses)  to  be  paid,  I  handed  the  usual  sum  to  the  landlady, 
saying  :  "  This  is  for  tilsigelse."  "  It  is  quite  right,"  said 
she,  pocketing  the  coin. 

Skirting  an  azure  lake,  we  crossed  the  highest  part  of  the 
pass,  nearly  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  descended  a 
naked  valley  to  the  inn  of  Bjoberg.  The  landlord  received 
us  very  cordially ;  and  as  the  inn  promised  tolerable  accom- 
modation, he  easily  persuaded  us  to  stop  there  for  the  night 
His  wife  wore  a  frightful  costume,  which  we  afterwards 
found  to  prevail  throughout  all  Hemsedal  and  Hallingdal. 
It  consisted  simply  of  a  band  across  the  shoulders,  above  the 
breasts,  passing  around  the  arms  and  over  the  back  of  the 
neck,  with  an  immense  baggy,  dangling  skirt  hanging 

therefrom   1o  the  ancles.     Whether  she  was  fat  or  lean 
17 


374  NORTItrTR*  TRAVEL. 

straight  or  crooked,  symmetrical  or  deformed,  it  was  i 
Bible  to  discern,  except  when  the  wind  blew.  The  only 
thing  to  be  said  in  favour  of  such  a  costume  is,  that  it  does 
not  impede  the  development  and  expansion  of  the  body  in 
any  direction.  Hence  I  would  strongly  recommend  ita 
adoption  to  the  advocates  of  reform  in  feminine  dress  at 
home.  There  is  certainly  none  of  that  weight  upcn  the 
hips,  of  which  they  complain  in  the  fashionable  costume.  It 
is  far  more  baggy,  loose,  and  hideous  than  the  Bloomer,  with 
the  additional  advantage  of  making  all  ages  and  styles  oi 
beauty  equally  repulsive,  while  on  the  score  of  health  and 
convenience,  there  is  still  less  to  be  said  against  it.  Do  not 
stop  at  half-way  measures,  oh,  fair  reformers  ! 

It  seems  incredible  that,  in  a  pastoral  country  like  Nor- 
way, it  should  be  almost  impossible  to  procure  sweet  milk 
and  good  butter.  The  cattle  are  of  good  quality,  there  is 
no  better  grass  in  the  world  ;  and  the  only  explanation  of 
the  fact  is  to  be  found  in  the  general  want  of  cleanliness, 
especially  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  mountain  districts, 
which  are  devoted  to  pasturage  alone.  Knowing  this,  one 
wonders  the  less  to  see  no  measures  taken  for  a  supply  of 
water  in  the  richer  grain-growing  valleys,  where  it  is  so 
easily  procurable.  At  Bjoberg,  for  instance,  there  was  a 
stream  of  delicious  water  flowing  down  the  hill,  close  beside 
the  inn,  and  four  bored  pine-trunks  would  have  brought  it 
to  the  very  door ;  but,  instead  of  that,  the  landlady  whirled 
off  to  the  stream  in  her  revolving  dress,  to  wash  the  dishes, 
or  to  bring  us  half  a  pint  to  wash  ourselves.  We  found 
water  much  more  abundant  the  previous  winter  in  Swedish 
l*apland. 


HALLJNQDAL.— THE  COUNTRY-PEOPLE  OF   NORWAY  376 

Leaving  Bjoberg  betimes,  we  drove  rapidly  down  Hem- 
aodal,  enjoy irig  the  pure  delicious  airs  of  the  upper  fjeld. 
The  scenery  was  bleak  and  grey ;  and  even  the  soft  pencil  oi 
the  morning  sun  failed  to  impart  any  charm  to  it,  except  the 
nameless  fascination  of  utter  solitude  and  silence.  Theval 
ley  descends  so  gradually  that  we  had  driven  two  Norsk 
miles  before  the  fir-forests  in  its  bed  began  to  creep  up  the 
mountain-sides.  During  the  second  stage  we  passed  the  re- 
markable peak  of  Saaten,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley — 
the  end  or  cape  of  a  long  projecting  ridge,  terminating  in  a 
scarped  cliff,  from  the  very  summit  of  which  fell  a  cascade 
from  three  to  four  hundred  feet  in  height.  Where  the  water 
came  from,  it  was  impossible  to  guess,  unless  there  were  a 
large  deposit  of  snow  in  the  rear ;  for  the  mountains  fell 
away  behind  Saaten,  and  the  jagged,  cleft  headland  rose 
alone  above  the  valley.  It  was  a  strange  and  fantastic  fea- 
ture of  the  landscape,  and,  to  me,  a  new  form  in  the  repertory 
of  mountain  aspects. 

We  now  drove,  through  fir-woods  balmy  with  warm  resi- 
nous odours,  to  Ekre,  where  we  had  ordered  breakfast  by 
forbvd.  The  morning  air  had  given  us  a  healthy  appetite; 
but  our  spirits  sank  when  the  only  person  at  the  station,  a 
stupid  girl  of  twenty,  dressed  in  the  same  bulging,  hideous 
Back,  informed  us  that  nothing  was  to  be  had.  After  some 
persuasion  she  promised  us  coffee,  cheese,  and  bread,  which 
same  in  due  time;  but  with  the  best  will  we  found  it  im 
possible  to  eat  anything.  The  butter  was  rather  black  than 
yellow,  the  cheese  as  detestable  to  the  taste  as  to  the  smell 
the  bread  made  apparently  of  saw-dust,  with  a  slight  mix- 
ture of  oat-bran,  and  the  coffee  muddy  dregs,  with  some  som 


376  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

cream  in  a  cup  and  sugar-candy  .which  appeared  to  have 
been  sucked  and  then  dropped  in  the  ashes.  The  original 
colour  of  the  girl's  hands  was  barely  to  be  distinguished 
through  their  coating  of  dirt;  and  all  of  us.  tough  old  tra- 
vellers as  we  were,  sickened  at  the  sight  of  her.  I  verily 
believe  that  the  poorer  classes  of  the  Norwegians  are  the 
filthiest  people  in  Europe.  They  are  even  worse  thau  the 
Lapps,  for  their  habits  of  life  allow  them  to  be  clean. 

After  passing  Ekre,  our  view  opened  down  the  valley 
over  a  wild  stretch  of  wooded  hills,  to  the  blue  mountain 
folds  of  the  Hallingdal,  which  crosses  the  Hemsedal  almost 
at  right  angles,  and  receives  its  tributary  waters.  Th«; 
forms  of  the  mountains  are  here  more  gradual ;  and  those 
grand  sweeps  and  breaks  which  constitute  the  peculiar 
charms  of  the  scenery  of  the  Bergenstift  are  met  with  no 
longer.  We  had  a  hot  ride  to  the  next  station,  where  we 
were  obliged  to  wait  nearly  an  hour  in  the  kitchen,  our 
forbttd  not  having  been  forwarded  from  the  former  station 
as  soon  as  the  law  allowed  us  to  expect.  A  strapping  boy 
of  eighteen  acted  as  station  master.  His  trowsers  reached 
considerably  above  his  shoulder  blades,  leaving  barely  room 
for  a  waistcoat,  six  inches  long,  to  be  buttoned  over  his  col- 
lar bone.  The  characteristic  costumes  of  Norway  are  more 
quaint  and  picturesque  in  the  published  illustrations  than  in 
the  reality,  particularly  those  of  Hemsedal.  My  postillion 
to  this  station  was  a  communicative  fellow,  and  gave  me 
Borne  information  about  the  value  of  labour.  A  harvest- 
hand  gets  from  one  mark  (twenty-one  cents)  to  one  and  a 
half  daily,  with  food,  or  two  marks  without.  Most  work  u 
paid  by  the  job ;  a  strong  lumber-man  may  make  two  and  > 


HALLINGDAL.— THE  COUNTRY  PEOPLE  OP  NORWAY.        37? 

half  marks  when  the  days  are  long,  at  six  skilhngs  (five 
cents)  a  tree — a  plowman  two  marks.  In  the  winter  the 
usual  wages  of  labourers  are  two  marks  a  week,  with  board. 
Shoemakers,  tailors,  and  other  mechanics  average  about  Ihc 
-ame  daily.  When  one  considers  the  sea-city  of  good  food 
and  the  high  price  of  all  luxuries,  especially  tobacco  and 
hrandy,  it  does  not  seem  strange  that  the  emigration  fever 
should  be  so  prevalent.  The  Norwegians  have  two  traite 
in  common  with  a  large  class  of  Americans — rampant  pa- 
triotism and  love  of  gain  ;  but  they  cannot  so  easily  satisfy 
the  latter  without  sacrificing  the  former. 

From  the  village  of  Gol,  with  its  dark  pretty  church,  we 
descended  a  steep  of  many  hundred  feet,  into  Hallingdal, 
whose  broad  stream  flashed  blue  in  the  sunshine  far  below 
us.  The  mountains  were  now  wooded  to  their  very  sum- 
mits ;  and  over  the  less  abrupt  slopes,  ripe  oats  and  barley- 
field?  made  yellow  spots  of  harvest  among  the  dark  forest* 
By  this  time  we  were  out  of  smoking  material,  and  stopped 
at  the  house  of  a  landhandlare,  or  country  merchant,  to 
procure  a  supply.  A  riotous  sound  came  from  the  door  aa 
we  approached.  Six  or  eight  men.  all  more  or  less  drunk, 
and  one  woman,  were  inside,  singing,  jumping,  and  howling 
like  a  pack  of  Bedlamites.  We  bought  the  whole  stock  oi 
tobacco,  consisting  of  two  cigars,  and  hastened  out  of  the 
len.  The  last  station  of  ten  miles  was  down  the  beautiful 
Hallingdal,  through  a  country  which  seemed  rich  by  con- 
trast with  Hemsedel  and  the  barren  fjelu  Our  stopping- 
place  was  the  village  of  Noes,  which  we  reached  in  a  famish- 
ed condition,  having  eaten  nothing  all  day.  There  wew 
two  landhandlare  in  the  place,  with  one  of  whom  we  lodged 


378  NORTHEBN   TIIAVEL. 

Here  we  found  a  few  signs  of  Christianity  such  as  garden! 
and  decent  dresses ;  but  both  of  the  merchant's  shops  swarm- 
ed with  rum-drinkers. 

I  had  written,  and  sent  off  from  Bjoborg,  forbud  ticket! 
for  every  station  as  far  as  Kongsberg.  By  the  legal  regula 
tions,  the  skyds-skaffer  is  obliged  to  send  forward  such 
tickets  as  soon  as  received,  the  traveller  paying  the  cos* 
thereof  on  his  arrival.  Notwithstanding  we  had  given  ou 
forbud  twelve  hours'  start,  and  had  punctually  paid  th€ 
expense  at  every  station,  we  overtook  it  at  Naes.  The  post- 
master came  to  know  whether  we  would  have  it  sent  on  by 
special  express,  or  wait  until  some  traveller  bound  the  same 
way  would  lake  it  for  us.  I  ordered  it  to  be  sent  immedi- 
ately, astounded  at  such  a  question,  until,  making  the  ac- 
quaintance of  a  Scotchman  and  his  wife,  who  had  arrived  in 
advance  of  us,  the  mystery  was  solved.  They  had  spent  the 
night  at  the  first  station  beyond  Bjoberg.  where  our  forbud 
tickets  were  given  to  them,  with  the  request  that  they  would 
deliver  them.  They  had  punctually  done  so  as  far  as  Noes, 
where  the  people  had  endeavoured  to  prevent  them  from 
stopping  for  the  night,  insisting  that  they  were  bound  to  go 
on  and  carry  the  forbud.  The  cool  impudence  of  this 
transaction  reached  the  sublime.  At  every  station  that  day, 
pay  had  been  taken  for  service  unperformed,  and  it  was 
Diore  than  once  demanded  twice  over. 

We  trusted  the  repeated  assurance  of  the  post- master  at 
N7ae*,  that  onr  tickets  had  been  forwarded  at  once,  and  paid 
him  accordingly.  But  at  the  first  station  next  morning  we 
found  that  he  had  not  done  so ;  and  this  interlinked  chain 
of  swindling  lasted  the  whole  day.  We  were  obliged  te 


HALLINGDAL.  —  THE    COUNTRY    PEOPLE    OF    NORWAY.     379 

wait  an  hour  or  two  at  every  post,  to  pay  for  messengers 
who  probably  never  went,  and  then  to  resist  a  demand  foi 
repayment  at  the  other  end  of  the  station.  What  redress 
was  there  ?  We  might  indeed  have  written  a  complaint  in 
imperfect  Norsk,  which  would  be  read  by  an  inspector  a 
month  afterwards ;  or  perhaps  it  would  he  crossed  out  as 
goon  as  we  left,  as  we  saw  done  in  several  cases.  Unless  a 
traveller  is  very  well  versed  in  the  language  and  in  the  laws 
relating  to  the  skyds  system,  he  has  no  defence  against  im- 
position, and  even  in  such  a  case,  he  can  only  obtain  redress 
through  delay.  The  system  can  only  work  equitably  when 
the  people  are  honest ;  and  perhaps  they  were  so  when  it 
was  first  adopted. 

H^re  I  must  tell  an  unpleasant  truth.  There  must  h&ve 
been  some  foundation  in  the  beginning  for  the  wide  reputa- 
tion which  the  Norwegians  have  for  honest  simplicity  of 
character;  but  the  accounts  given  by  former  trayellers  are 
undeserved  praise  if  applied  at  present.  The  people  are 
trading  on  fictitious  capital.  "  Should  I  have  a  written  con- 
tract ? "  I  asked  of  a  landlord,  in  relation  to  a  man  with 
whom  I  was  making  a  bargain.  "  Oh,  no,"  said  he,  "  every- 
body is  honest  in  Norway  ; "  and  the  same  man  tried  his  best 
to  cheat  me.  Said  Braisted,  "  I  once  heard  an  old  sailor 
say, — '  when  a  man  has  a  reputation  for  honesty,  watch  him  ! ' ' 
— and  there  is  some  knowledge  of  human  nature  in  the 
remark.  Norway  was  a  fresh  field  when  Laing  went  thither? 
opportunities  for  imposition  were  so  rare,  that  the  faculty 
had  not  been  developed ;  he  found  the  people  honest,  and 
later  travellers  have  been  content  with  echoing  his  opinion 
"  When  I  first  came  to  the  country,"  said  an  Irish  gentle 


380  NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 

man  who  for  ten  years  past  has  spent  his  summers  there,  " ! 
was  advised,  as  I  did  not  understand  the  currency,  to  offer  a 
handful  in  payment,  and  let  the  people  take  what  was  due 
to  them."  "  Would  you  do  it  now  ?''  I  asked.  "  No,  indeed,'' 
said  he,  "  and  the  man  who  then  advised  me,  a  Norwegian 
merchant,  now  says  he  would  not  do  it  either.''  An  Eng- 
lish salmon-fisher  told  me  very  much  the  same  thing.  "  1 
believe  they  are  honest  in  their  intercourse  with  each  other," 
said  he  ;  "  but  they  do  not  scruple  to  take  advantage  oi 
travellers  whenever  they  can."  For  my  own  part,  I  must 
say  that  in  no  country  of  Europe,  except  Italy,  have  I  ex 
perienced  so  many  attempts  at  imposition.  Another  Eng- 
lishman, who  has  been  farming  in  Norway  for  several  years, 
and  who  employs  about  forty  labourers,  has  been  obliged  to 
procure  Swedes,  on  account  of  the  peculations  of  native 
hands.  I  came  to  Norway  with  the  popular  impression  con- 
cerning the  people,  and  would  not  confess  myself  so  dia- 
agreeably  undeceived,  could  I  suppose  that  my  own  ex- 
periences were  exceptional.  I  found,  however,  that  they 
tallied  with  those  of  other  travellers ;  and  the  conclusion  ia 
too  flagrant  to  be  concealed. 

As  a  general  rule,  I  have  found  the  people  honest  in  pro- 
portion as  they  are  stupid.  They  are  quick-witted  when- 
ever the  spirit  of  gain  is  aroused  ;  and  the  ease  with  which 
they  pick  up  little  arts  of  acquisitiveness  does  not  suggest 
an  integrity  proof  against  temptation.  It  is  but  a  negative 
tirtue,  rather  than  that  stable  quality  rooted  in  the  very 
core  of  a  man's  nature.  I  may,  perhaps,  judge  a  little 
harshly ;  but  when  one  finds  the  love  of  gain  so  strongly 
developed,  so  keen  and  grasping,  in  combination  with  th« 


HALLINGDAr..  -THE  COUNTRY    PEOPLE  OP   NORWAY.  381 

tour  capital  vices  of  the  Norwegians — indolence,  filth,  drunk- 
enness, and  licentiousness, — the  descent  to  such  dishonest 
arts  as  I  have  described  is  scarcely  a  single  step.  There 
are,  no  doubt,  many  districts  where  the  people  are  still  un- 
tempted  by  rich  tourists  and  sportsmen,  and  retain  the 
virtues  once  ascribed  to  the  whole  population :  but  that 
there  has  been  a  general  and  rapid  deterioration  of  character 
cannot  be  denied.  The  statistics  of  morality,  for  instance, 
show  that  one  child  out  of  every  ten  is  illegitimate ;  and 
the  ratio  has  been  steadily  increasing  for  the  past  fifty  years. 
Would  that  the  more  intelligent  classes  would  seriously  set 
themselves  to  work  for  the  good  of  "  Gamle  Norge"  instead 
of  being  content  with  the  poetical  flourish  of  her  name ! 

The  following  day,  from  Naes  to  Gree.i,  was  a  continua- 
tion of  our  journey  down  the  Hallingdal  There  was  little 
change  in  the  scenery, — high  fir-wooded  mountains  on  either 
hand,  the  lower  slopes  spotted  with  farms.  The  houses 
showed  some  slight  improvement  as  we  advanced.  The 
people  were  all  at  work  in  the  fields,  cutting  the  year's 
satisfactory  harvest.  A  scorching  sun  blazed  in  a  cloudless 
sky ;  the  earth  was  baked  and  dry,  and  suffocating  clouds  of 
dust  rose  from  under  our  horses'  hoofs.  Most  of  the  women 
in  the  fields,  on  account  of  the  heat,  had  pulled  off  their 
body-sacks,  and  were  working  in  shifts  made  on  the  same 
principle,  which  reached  to  the  knees.  Other  garments  they 
had  none.  A  few,  recognising  us  as  strangers,  hastily  threw 
on  their  sacks  or  got  behind  a  barley-stack  until  we  had 
passed;  the  others  were  quite  unconcerned.  One,  whose 
garment  was  exceedingly  short,  no  sooner  saw  us  than  she 
aommenced  a  fjeld  dance,  full  of  astonishing  leaps  and  whirls 
17* 


$82  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

to  the  great  diversion  of  the  other  hands.  "  Weel  dona, 
cutty  sark !"  I  cried ;  but  the  quotation  was  thrown  away 
upon  her. 

Green,  on  the  Kroder  Lake,  which  we  did  not  reach  until 
l:ng  after  dark,  was  an  oasis  after  our  previous  experience. 
Such  clean,  refined,  friendly  people,  such  a  neat  table,  such 
excellent  fare,  and  such  delicious  beds  we  had  certainly 
never  seen  before.  Blessed  be  decency  !  blessed  be  humanity  ! 
was  our  fervent  ejaculation.  And  when  in  the  morning  we 
paid  an  honest  reckoning  and  received  a  hearty  "  lycksame 
resa  /''  (a  lucky  journey  !)  at  parting,  we  vowed  that  the 
place  should  always  be  green  in  our  memories.  Thence  to 
Kongsberg  we  had  fast  stations  and  civilised  people ;  the 
country  was  open,  well  settled,  and  cultivated,  the  scenery 
pleasant  and  picturesque,  and,  except  the  insufferable  heat 
and  dust,  we  could  complain  of  nothing. 


tELLEMARK    ANI>  THE   RIL'KAN    FOBS 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

TELLEMARK    AND    THE     RIUKAN    FOS3. 

KONGSBERG,  where  we  arrived  on  the  26th  of  August,  ifl 
celebrated  for  its  extensive  silver  mines,  which  were  first 
opened  by  Christian  IV  in  1624,  and  are  now  worked  by 
the  Government.  They  are  doubtless  interesting  to  min- 
eralogists;  but  we  did  not  visit  them.  The  guide-book 
says,  "  The  principal  entrance  to  the  mines  is  through  a 
level  nearly  two  English  miles  in  length;  from  this  level  you 
descend  by  thirty-eight  perpendicular  ladders,  of  the  average 
length  of  five  fathoms  each,  a  very  fatiguing  task,  and  then 
find  yourself  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  and  are  rewarded 
by  the  sight  of  the  veins  of  native  silver" — not  a  bit  of 
which,  after  all,  are  you  allowed  to  put  into  your  pocket. 
Thank  you !  I  prefer  remaining  above  ground,  and  was  con- 
tent with  having  in  my  possession  smelted  specimens  of  the 
ore,  stamped  with  the  head  of  Oscar  I. 

The  goal  of  our  journey  was  the  Riukan  Foss,  which  lies 
in  Upper  Tellemark,  on  the  south-eastern  edge  of  the  great 
plateau  of  the  Hardanger  Fjeld.  This  cascade  disputes 
with  the  Vdring  Foss  the  supremacy  of  the  thousand  water- 
falls of  Norway.  There  are  several  ways  from  Kongsbers 


384  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

thither ;  and  in  our  ignorance  of  the  country,  we  suffered 
ourselves  to  be  guided  by  the  landlord  of  our  hotel.  Let  no 
traveller  follow  our  example !  The  road  he  recommended 
was  almost  impassable  for  carrioles,  and  miserably  supplied 
with  horses,  while  that  through  Hitterdal,  by  which  we  re- 
turned, is  broad,  smooth,  and  excellent.  We  left  on  the 
morning  after  our  arrival,  taking  a  road  which  led  up  the 
valley  of  the  Lauven  for  some  distance,  and  then  struck 
westward  through  the  hills  to  a  little  station  called  Moen. 
Here,  as  the  place  was  rarely  visited  by  travellers,  the 
people  were  simple,  honest,  and  friendly.  Horses  could  not 
be  had  in  less  than  two  hours ;  and  my  postillion,  an  intel- 
ligent fellow  far  gone  in  consumption,  proposed  taking  the 
same  horse  to  the  next  station,  fifteen  miles  further.  He 
accepted  my  offer  of  increased  pay;  but  another,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  the  owner  of  the  horses,  refused,  demanding 
more  than  double  the  usual  rates.  "  How  is  it  ?"  said  I, 
"  that  you  were  milling  to  bring  us  to  Moen  for  one  and  a  half 
marks,  and  will  not  take  us  to  Bolkesjo  for  less  than  five  ?" 
"It  was  my  turn,"  he  answered,  "  to  furnish  post-horses.  1 
am  bound  by  law  to  bring  you  here  at  the  price  fixed  by  the 
law;  but  now  I  can  make  my  own  bargain,  and  I  want  a 
price  that  will  leave  me  some  profit."  This  was  reasonable 
enough ;  and  we  finally  agreed  to  retain  two  of  the  horses 
taking  the  postmaster's  for  a  third. 

The  region  we  now  traversed  was  almost  a  wilderness 
There  were  Brazing-farms  in  the  valley,  with  a  few  fields  o 
aats  or  barley  ;  but  these  Boon  ceased,  and  an  interminable 
forest  enclosed  us.  The  road,  terribly  rough  and  stony, 
crowed  spurs  of  the  hills,  slowly  climbing  to  a  wild  summit- 


TELLEMAUK   AND  THE  RItTKAN-FOS8.  386 

level,  whence  we  caught  glimpses  of  lakes  far  below  us,  and 
the  blue  mountain-ranges  in  the  west,  with  the  pyramidal 
peak  of  the  Gousta  Fjeld  crowning  them.  Bolkesjo,  which 
we  reached  in  a  little  more  than  two  hours,  is  a  small  ham- 
let on  the  western  slope  of  the  mountain,  overlooking  a  wide 
tract  of  lake  and  forest.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  were 
away  in  the  harvest-fields ;  but  the  skyds-shaffer,  a  tal) 
powerful  fellow,  with  a  grin  of  ineffable  stupidity  on  hie 
face,  came  forward  as  we  pulled  in  our  horses  on  the  turfy 
square  between  the  rows  of  magazines.  "  Can  we  get  horses 
at  once  ?"  "  Ne-e-ey  !''  was  his  drawling  answer,  accom- 
panied with  a  still  broader  grin,  as  if  the  thing  were  a  good 
joke.  "  How  soon  ?"  "  In  three  hours."  "  But  if  we  pay 
fast  prices  ?"  He  hesitated,  scratched  his  head,  and  drawl- 
ed, "  In  a  lite) i.  stund?'  (a  "  short  time"),  which  may  mean 
any  time  from  five  minutes  to  as  many  hours.  "  Can  we 
get  fresh  milk  ?"  "  Ne-e-ey  !"  "  Can  we  get  butter  ?' 
"  Ne-e-ey  !"  "  What  can  we  get  ?"  "  Nothing."  Fortun- 
ately we  had  foreseen  this  emergency,  and  had  brought  a 
meal  with  us  from  Kongsberg. 

We  took  possession  of  the  kitchen,  a  spacious  and  tolera- 
bly clean  apartment,  with  ponderous  benches  against  two 
Bides  of  it,  and  two  bedsteads,  as  huge  and  ugly  as  those  of 
kings,  built  along  the  third.  Enormous  platters  of  pewter, 
earthen  and  stone  ware,  were  ranged  on  shelves,  while  a  cup- 
board, fantastically  painted,  contained  the  smaller  crockery, 
There  was  a  heavy  red  and  green  cornice  above  the  bed,  up- 
Dn  which  the  names  of  the  host  and  his  wife,  with  the  date 
of  their  marriage,  were  painted  in  yellow  letters.  The  wor- 
thy couple  lay  so  high  that  several  steps  were  necessary  tc 


386  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

enable  them  to  reach  the  bed,  in  which  process  their  eye? 
encountered  words  of  admonition,  painted  upon  triangular 
boards,  introduced  to  strengthen  the  pillars  at  the  head  and 
foot.  One  of  these  inscriptions  ran,  "  This  is  my  bed  :  here 
I  take  my  rest  in  the  night,  and  when  morning  comes  I  get 
up  cheerfully  and  go  to  work ;"  and  the  other,  "  When 
thou  liest  down  to  sleep  think  on  thy  last  hour,  pray  thai 
God  will  guard  thy  sleep,  and  be  ready  for  thy  last  hour 
when  it  comes."  On  the  bottom  of  the  cupboard  was  a 
representation  of  two  individuals  with  chalk-white  faces 
and  inky  eyes,  smoking  their  pipes  and  clinking  glasses. 
The  same  fondness  for  decorations  and  inscriptions  is  seen 
in  all  the  houses  in  Tellemark  and  a  great  part  of  Halling- 
dal.  Some  of  them  are  thoroughly  Chinese  in  gaudy  colour 
and  grotesque  design. 

In  the  course  of  an  hour  and  a  half  we  obtained  thre« 
strong  and  spirited  stallions,  and  continued  our  journey 
towards  the  Tind-S6.  During  this  stage  of  twelve  or  thir- 
teen miles,  the  quality  of  our  carrioles  was  tested  in  the 
most  satisfactory  manner.  Up-hill  and  down,  over  stock 
and  stone,  jolted  on  rock  and  wrenched  in  gulley,  they  were 
whirled  at  a  smashing  rate;  but  the  tough  ash  and  firmly- 
welded  iron  resisted  every  shock.  For  any  other  than  Nor- 
wegian horses  and  vehicles,  it  would  have  been  hazardous 
travelling.  We  were  anxious  to  retain  the  same  animals 
for  the  remaining  stage  to  Tinoset.  at  the  foot  of  the  lake : 
out  the  postillions  refused,  and  a  further  delay  of  two  hours 
was  the  consequence.  It  was  dark  when  the  new  horses 
same;  and  ten  miles  of  forest  lay  before  us.  We  were  fer- 
*ied  one  by  one  across  the  Tind  Elv,  on  a  weak,  loose  raft 


TELLEMARK  AND  THE  RIUKAN   POSS.  387 

and  got  our  carrioles  up  a  frightful  bank  on  the  c  pposiU 
side  by  miraculous  luck.  Fortunately  we  struck  the  post- 
road  from  Hitterdal  at  this  place ;  for  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  ride  over  such  rocky  by-ways  as  we  had  left 
behind  us.  A  white  streak  was  all  that  was  visible  in  th 
gloom  of  the  forest.  We  kept  in  the  middle  of  it,  not 
knowing  whether  the  road  went  up,  down,  or  on  a  level, 
until  we  had  gone  over  it.  At  last,  however,  the  forest  came 
to  an  end,  and  we  saw  Tind  Lake  lying  still  and  black  in 
the  starlight.  All  were  in  bed  at  Tinoset ;  but  we  went  in- 
to the  common  sleeping-room,  and  stirred  the  people  up 
promiscuously  until  we  found  the  housewife,  who  gave  us 
the  only  supper  the  house  afforded — hard  oaten  bread  and 
milk.  We  three  then  made  the  most  of  two  small  beds. 

In  the  morning  we  took  a  boat,  with  four  oarsmen,  for 
Mael,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Westfjord-dal,  in  which  lies  the 
Riukan  Foss.  There  was  no  end  to  our  wonderful  weather. 
In  rainy  Norway  the  sky  had  for  once  forgotten  its  clouds 
One  after  another  dawned  the  bright  Egyptian  days,  followed 
by  nights  soft,  starry,  and  dewless.  The  wooded  shores  of 
the  long  Tind  Lake  were  illuminated  with  perfect  sunshine, 
and  its  mirror  of  translucent  beryl  broke  into  light  waves 
under  the  northern  breeze  Yet,  with  every  advantage  of 
sun  and  air,  I  found  this  lake  undeserving  of  its  reputation 
for  picturesque  beauty.  The  highest  peaks  rise  to  the 
height  of  2000  feet,  but  there  is  nothing  bold  and  decided  in 
their  forms,  and  after  the  splendid  fjords  of  the  western  coast 
the  scenery  appears  tame  and  common-  place.  Our  boatmen 
pulled  well,  and  by  noon  brought  us  to  Hakenaes,  a  distance 
D£  twenty-one  miles.  Here  we  stopped  to  engage  horses  tc 


388  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

the  Riukan  Foss,  as  there  is  no  post-station  at  Mael 
While  the  old  man  put  off  in  his  boat  to  notify  the  farmer* 
whose  turn  it  was  to  supply  the  animals,  we  entered  the 
farm-house,  a  substantial  two-story  building.  The  roomn 
were  tolerably  clean  and  well  stocked  with  the  clumsy,  heavy 
furniture  of  the  country,  which  is  mostly  made  by  the 
farmers  themselves,  every  man  being  his  own  carpenter, 
cooper,  and  blacksmith.  There  were  some  odd  old  stools 
made  of  segments  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  the  upper  part 
hollowed  out  so  as  to  receive  the  body,  and  form  a  support 
for  the  back.  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  fashion  of  seat  is 
as  old  as  the  time  of  the  Vikings.  The  owner  was  evidently 
a  man  in  tolerable  circumstances,  and  we  therefore  cherished 
the  hope  of  getting  a  good  meal ;  but  all  that  the  old  woman, 
with  the  best  will  in  the  world,  was  able  to  furnish,  was 
milk,  butter,  oaten  bread,  and  an  egg  apiece.  The  upper 
rooms  were  all  supplied  with  beds,  one  of  which  displayed 
remarkable  portraits  of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Denmark  and 
his  spouse,  upon  the  head-board.  In  another  room  was  a 
loom  of  primitive  construction. 

It  was  nearly  two  hours  before  the  old  farmer  returned 
with  the  information  that  the  horses  would  be  at  Mael  as 
soon  as  we ;  but  we  lay  upon  the  bank  for  some  time  after 
arriving  there ,  watching  the  postillions  swim  them  across 
vhe  mouth  of  the  Maan  Elv.  Leaving  the  boat,  which  wai 
to  await  our  return  the  next  day,  we  set  off  up  the  West- 
fjord-dal,  towards  the  broad  cone-like  mass  of  the  Gousta- 
Fjeld,  whose  huge  bulk,  6000  feet  in  height,  loomed  grandly 
»ver  the  valley.  The  houses  of  Mael,  clustered  about  ita 
little  church,  were  scattered  over  the  slope  above  the  lake} 


TELLEMARK   AND   THE  RlUKAN  FOBS  389 

and  across  the  river,  amid  the  fields  of  grass  and  grain  stood 
another  village  of  equal  size.  The  bed  of  the  valley  dot- 
ted with  farms  and  groups  of  farm-houses,  appeared  to  l«e 
thickly  populated  ;  but  as  a  farmer's  residence  rarely  consists 
of  less  than  six  buildings — sometimes  even  eight — a  stran- 
ger would  naturally  overrate  the  number  of  inhabitants. 
The  production  of  grain,  also,  is  much  less  than  would  be 
supposed  from  the  amount  of  land  under  cultivation,  owing 
to  the  heads  being  so  light.  The  valley  of  the  Maan,  ap 
parently  a  rich  and  populous  region,  is  in  reality  rather  th€ 
reverse.  In  relation  to  its  beauty,  however,  there  can  be  no 
two  opinions.  Deeply  sunken  between  the  Gousta  and  ano- 
ther bold  spur  of  the  Hardanger,  its  golden  harvest-fields 
and  groves  of  birch,  ash,  and  pine  seem  doubly  charming 
from  the  contrast  of  the  savage  steeps  overhanging  them,  at 
first  scantily  feathered  with  fir-trees,  and  scarred  with  the 
tracks  of  cataracts  and  slides,  then  streaked  only  with 
patches  of  grey  moss,  and  at  last  bleak  and  sublimely  bare. 
The  deeply-channelled  cone  of  the  Gousta,  with  its  indented 
summit,  rose  far  above  us,  sharp  and  clear  in  the  thin  ether 
but  its  base,  wrapped  in  forests  and  wet  by  many  a  waterfall 
— sank  into  the  bed  of  blue  vapour  which  filled  the  valley. 
There  was  no  Arabian,  nor  even  Byzantine  blood  in  our 
horses ;  and  our  attendants — a  stout  full-grown  farmer  and 
a  boy  of  sixteen — easily  kept  pace  with  their  slow  rough 
trot.  In  order  to  reach  Tinoset  the  next  day,  we  had  de- 
termined to  push  on  to  the  Riukan  Foss  the  same  evening 
Our  quarters  for  the  night  were  to  be  in  the  house  of  the 
)ld  farmer,  Ole  Torgensen,  in  the  village  of  D&l,  half-way 
between  Mael  and  che  cataract,  which  we  did  not  reach  unti] 


3  90  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

five  o'clock,  when  the  sun  was  already  resting  his  chin  ot 
the  shoulder  of  the  Gousta.     On  a  turfy  slope  surrounded 
with  groves,  above  the  pretty  little  chtirch  of  D§1,  we  found 
Ole's  gaard.     There  was  no  one  at  home  except  the  daugh 
ter,  a  blooming  lass  of  twenty,  whose  neat  dress,  and  grace 
ful,  friendly  deportment,  after  the  hideous  feminines  of  Hal 
lingdal,  in  their  ungirdled  sacks  and  shifts,  so  charmed   UP 
that  if  we  had  been  younger,  more  sentimental,  and  less  es 
perienced  in  such  matters,  I  should  not  answer  for  the  con- 
sequences.    She  ushered  us  into  the  guests'  room,  which  was 
neatness  itself,  set  before  us  a  bottle  of  Bavarian  beer  and 
promised  to  have  a  supper  ready  on  our  return. 

There  were  still  ten  miles  to  the  Riukan,  and  consequent- 
ly no  time  to  be  lost.  The  valley  contracted,  squeezing  the 
Maan  between  the  interlocking  bases  of  the  mountains, 
through  which,  in  the  course  of  uncounted  centuries,  it  had 
worn  itself  a  deep  groove,  cut  straight  and  clean  into  the 
heart  of  the  rock.  The  loud,  perpetual  roar  of  the  vexed 
waters  filled  the  glen ;  the  only  sound  except  the  bleating 
of  goats  clinging  to  the  steep  pastures  above  us.  The 
mountain  walls  on  either  hand  were  now  so  high  and  pre- 
cipitous, that  the  bed  of  the  valley  lay  wholly  in  shadow; 
and  on  looking  back,  its  further  foldings  were  dimly  seen 
through  purple  mist.  Only  the  peak  of  the  Gousta,  which 
from  this  point  appeared  an  entire  and  perfect  pyramid 
1500  feet  in  perpendicular  height  above  the  mountain  plat- 
form from  which  it  rose,  gleamed  with  a  rich  bronze  lustre 
in  the  setting  sun.  The  valley  was  now  a  mere  ascending 
gorge,  along  the  sides  of  which  our  road  climbed.  Before 
us  extended  a  slanting  shelf  thrust  out  from  the  mountain 


TEILEMARK   AND  THE  RIUKAN   FOSS.  391 

and  affording  room  for  a  few  cottages  and  fields  ;  but  all 
els?  was  naked  rock  and  ragged  pine.  From  one  of  the 
huts  we  passed,  a  crippled,  distorted  form  crawled  out  on 
its  hands  and  knees  to  beg  of  us.  It  was  a  boy  of  sixteen 
struck  with  another  and  scarcely  less  frightful  form  of  lep 
rosy.  In  this  case,  instead  of  hideous  swellings  and  fungous 
excrescences,  the  limbs  gradually  dry  up  and  drop  off  piece- 
meal at  the  joints.  Well  may  the  victims  of  both  these 
forms  of  hopeless  disease  curse  the  hour  in  which  they  were 
begotten.  I  know  of  no  more  awful  example  of  that  visi- 
tation of  the  sins  of  the  parents  upon  the  children,  which 
almost  always  attends  confirmed  drunkenness,  filth,  and 
licentiousness. 

When  we  reached  the  little  hamlet  on  the  shelf  of  the 
mountain,  the  last  rays  of  the  sun  were  playing  on  the  sum- 
mits above.  We  had  mounted  about  2000  feet  since 
leaving  the  Tind  Lake,  and  the  dusky  valley  yawned  far 
beneath  us,  its  termination  invisible,  as  if  leading  down- 
ward into  a  lower  world.  Many  hundreds  of  feet  below  the 
edge  of  the  wild  little  platform  on  which  we  stood,  thunder- 
ed the  Maan  in  a  cleft,  the  bottom  of  which  the  sun  has 
never  beheld.  Beyond  this  the  path  was  impracticable  for 
horses ;  we  walked,  climbed,  or  scrambled  along  the  side  of 
the  dizzy  steep,  where,  in  many  places,  a  false  step  would 
have  sent  us  to  the  brink  of  gulfs  whose  mysteries  we  had 
no  desire  to  explore.  After  we  had  advanced  nearly  two 
miles  in  this  manner,  ascending  rapidly  all  the  time,  a  hol- 
low reverberation,  and  a  glimpse  of  profounder  abysses 
ahead,  revealed  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Riukan.  All  at 
once  patches  of  lurid  gloom  appeared  through  the  openings 


392  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

of  the  birch  thicket  are  were  threading,  and  we  caine  abruptlj 
upon  the  brink  of  the  great  chasm  into  which  the  rivei 
falls. 

The  Riukan  lay  before  us,  a  miracle  of  sprayey  splen- 
dour, an  apparition  of  unearthly  loveliness,  set  in  a  frame- 
work of  darkness  and  terror  befitting  the  jaws  of  hell 
Before  us,  so  high  against  the  sky  as  to  shut  out  the  colour* 
of  sunset,  rose  the  top  of  the  valley — the  level  of  the  Har- 
danger  table  land,  on  which,  a  short  distance  further,  lies 
the  Mios-Vand,  a  lovely  lake,  in  which  the  Maan  Elv  is 
born.  The  river  first  comes  into  sight  a  mass  of  boiling 
foam,  shooting  around  the  corner  of  a  line  of  black  cliffs 
which  are  rent  for  its  passage,  curves  to  the  right  as  it  de- 
scends, and  then  drops  in  a  single  fall  of  500  feet  in  a  hol- 
low caldron  of  bare  black  rock.  The  water  is  already  foam 
as  it  leaps  from  the  summit ;  and  the  successive  waves,  ag 
they  are  whirled  into  the  air,  and  feel  the  gusts  which  for 
ever  revolve  around  the  abyss,  drop  into  beaded  fringes  in 
falling,  and  go  fluttering  down  like  scarfs  of  the  richest 
lace.  It  is  not  water,  but  the  spirit  of  water.  The  bottom 
is  lost  in  a  shifting  snowy  film,  with  itarry  rays  of  foam 
radiating  from  its  heart,  below  which,  as  the  clouds  shifts, 
break  momentary  gleams  of  perfect  emerald  light.  What 
fairy  bowers  of  some  Northern  Undine  are  suggested  in 
those  sudden  flashes  of  silver  and  green  !  In  that  dim  pro- 
found, which  human  eye  can  but  partially  explore,  in  which 
human  foot  shall  never  be  set,  what  secret  wonders  may 
gtill  lie  hidden  !  And  around  this  vision  of  perfect  loveli- 
ness, rise  the  awful  walls  wet  with  spray  which  never  dries, 
and  crossed  by  ledges  of  dazzling  turf,  from  the  gulf  so  fai 


TEL1.EMARK    AND   THE  RIUKAN   FOSS.  393 

below  our  feet,  until,  still  further  above  our  heads,  they  lift 
their  irregular  cornices  against  the  sky. 

I  do  not  think  I  am  extravagant  when  I  say  that  th« 
Rxukan  Foss  is  the  most  beautiful  cataract  in  the  world.  1 
hckod  upon  it  with  that  involuntary  suspension  of  the 
oreath  and  quickening  of  the  pulse,  which  is  the  surest  rc« 
cognition  of  beauty.  The  whole  scene,  with  its  breadth  and 
grandeur  of  form,  and  its  superb  gloom  of  colouring,  en- 
shrining this  one  glorious  flash  of  grace,  and  brightness,  and 
loveliness,  is  indelibly  impressed  upon  my  mind.  Not  alone 
during  that  half  hour  of  fading  sunset,  but  day  after  day, 
and  night  after  night,  the  embroidered  spray- wreaths  of  the 
Riukan  were  falling  before  me. 

We  turned  away  reluctantly  at  last,  when  the  emerald 
pavement  of  Undine's  palace  was  no  longer  visible  through 
the  shooting  meteors  of  silver  foam.  The  depths  of  West- 
fjord  dal  were  filled  with  purple  darkness :  only  the  perfect 
pyramid  of  the  Gousta.  lifted  upon  a  mountain  basement 
more  than  4000  feet  in  height,  shone  like  a  colossal  wedge 
of  fire  against  the  violet  sky.  By  the  time  we  reached  our 
horses  we  discovered  that  we  were  hungry,  and.  leaving  the 
attendants  to  follow  at  their  leisure,  we  urged  the  tired 
animals  down  the  rocky  road.  The  smell  of  fresh-cut  grain 
and  sweet  mountain  hay  filled  the  cool  evening  air ;  darkness 
crept  under  the  birches  and  pines,  and  we  no  longer  met  the 
home-going-  harvesters.  Between  nine  and  ten  our  horsea 

O  O 

took  the  way  to  a  gaard  standing  a  little  off  the  road  j  but 
it  did  not  appear  to  be  Ole  Torgensen's,  so  we  kept  on.  In 
the  darkness,  however,  we  began  to  doubt  our  memory,  and 
Snally  turned  back  again.  This  time  there  could  be  nc 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

mistake:  it  was  not  Ole  Torgensen's.  I  knockci  at  various 
doors,  and  hallooed  loudly,  until  a  sleepy  farmer  made  bis 
appearance,  and  started  us  forward  again.  He  kindly  of- 
fered to  accompany  us,  but  we  did  not  think  it  necessary 
Terribly  fatigued  and  hungry,  we  at  last  saw  a  star  ol 
promise — the  light  of  Ole-s  kitchen  window.  There  was  a 
white  cloth  on  the  table  in  the  guests'  house,  and  Ole'a 
charming  daughter — the  Rose  of  Westfjord-dalen — did  not 
keep  us  long  waiting.  Roast  mutton,  tender  as  her  own 
heart,  potatoes  plump  as  her  cheeks,  and  be«>r  sparkling  as 
her  eyes,  graced  the  board  ;  but  emptiness,  void  as  our  own 
celibate  lives,  was  there  when  we  arose.  In  the  upper 
room  there  were  beds,  with  linen  fresh  as  youth  and  aroma- 
tic as  spring ;  and  the  peace  of  a  full  stomach  and  a  clear 
conscience  descended  upon  our  sleep. 

In  the  morning  we  prepared  for  an  early  return  to  Mael, 
as  the  boatmen  were  anxious  to  get  back  to  their  barley- 
fields.  I  found  but  one  expression  in  the  guests'  book — that 
of  satisfaction  with  Ole  Torgensen,  and  cheerfully  added  our 
amen  to  the  previous  declarations.  Ole's  bill  proved  his 
honesty,  no  less  than  his  worthy  face.  He  brightened  up  on 
learning  that  we  were  Americans.  "  Why,"  said  he,  "there 
have  only  been  two  Americans  here  before  in  all  my  life ; 
and  you  cannot  be  a  born  American,  because  you  speak 
Norsk  so  well."  "  Oh,"  said  I,  "  1  have  learned  the  language 
in  travelling."  K  Is  it  possible  ?"  he  exclaimed  :  "  then  yon 
must  have  a  powerful  intellect."  "  By  no  means,"  said  I, 
1  it  is  a  very  easy  thing ;  I  have  travelled  much,  and  can 
speak  six  other  languages."  Now,  God  help  us  !"  cried  he 
"seven  languages!  It  is  truly  wonderful  how  much  com- 


TELLEMARK   AND  THE  RHJKAN   FO88  395 

prehensiOTi  God  has  given  unto  man,  that  he  can  keep  scvet 
languages  in  his  head  at  one  time.  Here  am  I,  and  I  am 
not  a  fool ;  yet  I  do  not  see  how  it  would  be  possi*  le  for  me 
to  speak  anything  but  Norsk;  and  when  I  think  of  you,  it 
shows  me  what  wonders  God  has  done.  Will  you  not  mak 
a  mark  under  your  name,  in  the  book,  so  that  I  may  distin- 
guish you  from  the  other  two  ?"  I  cheerfully  complied,  and 
hereby  notify  future  visitors  why  my  name  is  italicised  in 
Ole's  book. 

We  bade  farewell  to  the  good  old  man,  and  rode  down 
the  valley  of  the  Maan,  through  the  morning  shadow  of  the 
Gousta.  Our  boat  was  in  readiness ;  and  its  couch  of  fii 
boughs  in  the  stern  became  a  pleasant  divan  of  indolence, 
after  our  hard  horses  and  rough  roads.  We  reached  Tino- 
set  by  one  o'clock,  but  were  obliged  to  wait  until  four  for 
horses.  The  only  refreshment  we  could  obtain  was  oaten 
bread,  and  weak  spruce  beer.  Off  at  last,  we  took  the  post- 
road  to  Hitterdal,  a  smooth,  excellent  highway,  through  in- 
terminable forests  of  fir  and  pine.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
stage,  glimpses  of  a  broad,  beautiful,  and  thickly-settled  val- 
ley glimmered  through  the  woods,  and  we  found  ourselves 
on  the  edge  of  a  tremendous  gully,  apparently  the  bed  ol 
an  extinct  river.  The  banks  on  both  sides  were  composed 
entirely  of  gravel  and  huge  rounded  pebbles,  masses  of  whicli 
we  loosened  at  the  top,  and  sent  down  the  sides,  gathering 
as  they  rolled,  until  in  a  cloud  of  dust  they  crashed  with  9 
sound  like  thunder  upon  the  loose  shingles  of  the  bottom 
800  feet  below.  It  was  scarcely  possible  to  account  for  this 
phenomenon  by  the  action  of  spring  torrents  from  the  melt- 
ed snow.  The  immense  banks  of  gravel,  which  we  found 


396  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

,lo  extend  for  a  considerable  distance  along  the  northern  siclt 
of  the  valley,  seemed  rather  to  be  the  deposit  of  an  ocean- 
flood. 

Hitterdal,  with  its  enclosed  fields,  its  harvests,  and  groupa 
of  picturesque,  substantial  farm-houses,  gave  us  promise  of 
good  quarters  for  the  night ;  and  when  our  postillions  stop- 
ped at  the  door  of  a  prosperous-looking  establishment,  we 
congratulated  ourselves  on  our  luck.  But  ( — )  never  whis- 
tle until  you  are  out  of  the  woods.  The  people  seemed  de- 
cidedly not  to  like  the  idea  of  our  remaining,  but  promised 
to  give  us  supper  and  beds.  They  were  stupid,  but  not  un- 
friendly ;  and  our  causes  of  dissatisfaction  were,  first,  that 
they  were  so  outrageously  filthy,  and  secondly,  that  they 
lived  so  miserably  when  their  means  evidently  allowed  them 
to  do  better.  The  family  room,  with  its  two  cumbrous  bed 
ateads  built  against  the  wall,  and  indescribably  dirty  beds, 
was  given  up  to  us,  the  family  betaking  themselves  to  the 
stable.  As  they  issued  thence  in  the  morning,  in  single  cjar 
ments,  we  were  involuntary  observers  of  their  degree  of  bod- 
ily neatness ;  and  the  impression  was  one  we  would  willingly 
forget.  Yet  a  great  painted  desk  in  the  room  contained, 
amid  many  flourishes,  the  names  and  character  of  the  host 
and  hostess,  as  follows  : — "  Andres  Svennogsen  Bamble.  and 
Ragnil  Thorkilsdatter  Bamble,  Which  These  Two  Are  Re- 
spectable People."  Over  the  cupboard,  studded  with  earth- 
en-ware dishes,  was  an  inscription  in  misspelt  Latin :  "  Solli 
Deo  Glorria."  Our  supper  consisted  of  boiled  potatoes  and 
fried  salt  pork,  which,  having  seen  the  respectable  hosts,  il 
required  considerable  courage  to  eat,  although  we  had  not 
Been  the  cooking.  Fleas  darkened  the  floor  ;  and  they,  with 


TELLEMARK    AND  THE  RIUKAN   FOSS.  *-$97 

the  fear  of  something  worse,  prevented  us  from  sleeping 
much.  We  did  not  ask  for  coffee  in  the  morning,  but,  as 
goon  as  we  could  procure  horses,  drove  away  hungry  and  dis- 
»usted  from  Bamble-Kaasa  and  its  respectable  inhabitants 

The  church  of  Hitterdal,  larger  than  that  of  Borgund, 
dates  from  about  the  same  period,  probably  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury. Its  style  is  similar,  although  it  has  not  the  same 
horned  ornaments  upon  the  roof,  and  the  Byzantine  features 
being  simpler,  produce  a  more  harmonious  effect.  It  is  a 
charmingly  quaint  and  picturesque  building,  and  the  people 
of  the  valley  are  justly  proud  of  it.  The  interior  has  been 
renovated,  not  in  the  best  style. 

Well,  to  make  this  very  long  chapter  short,  we  passed  the 
beautiful  falls  of  the  Tind  Elv,  drove  for  more  than  twenty 
miles  over  wild  piny  hills,  and  then  descended  to  Kongsberg, 
where  Fru  Hansen  comforted  us  with  a  good  dinner.  The 
next  day  we  breakfasted  in  Drammen,  and,  in  baking  heat 
and  stifling  dust,  traversed  the  civilised  country  between 
that  city  and  Christiania.  Our  Norwegian  travel  was  now 
at  an  end  ;  and,  as  a  snobby  Englishman  once  said  to  me  of 
the  Nile,  "it  is  a  good  thing  to  h»ve  gotten  over.* 
18 


398  NORTHERN   TRAVKL 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

NORWAY    AND    SWEDEN. 

WE  spent  four  days  in  Christiania,  after  completing  oni 
Norwegian  travels.  The  sky  was  still  perfectly  clear,  and 
up  to  the  day  of  our  departure  no  rain  fell.  Out  of  sixty 
days  which  we  had  devoted  to  Norway,  only  four  were 
rainy — a  degree  of  good  fortune  which  rarely  falls  to  the 
lot  of  travellers  in  the  North. 

Christiania,  from  its  proximity  to  the  continent,  and  its 
character  as  capital  of  the  country,  is  sufficiently  advanced 
in  the  arts  of  living,  to  be  a  pleasant  resting-place  after  the 
disagrtmens  and  privations  of  travel  in  the  interior.  It 
has  two  or  three  tolerably  good  and  very  exorbitant  hotels, 
and  some  bankers  with  less  than  the  usual  amount  of  con- 
science. One  of  them  offered  to  change  some  Prussian 
thalers  for  my  friend,  at  only  ten  per  cent,  less  than  their 
current  value.  The  vognmand  from  whom  we  purchased 
our  carrioles,  endeavoured  to  evade  his  bargain,  and  pro- 
tested that  he  had  not  money  enough  to  repurchase  them 
[  insisted,  however,  and  with  such  good  effect  that  he  finally 
pulled  a  roll  of  notes,  amounting  to  several  hundred  dollars 
out  of  his  pocket,  and  paid  me  the  amount  in  full.  Thi 


NORWAY   AND   SWEDEN.  399 

Englieh  travellers  whom  I  met  had  not  fared  any  better 
and  one  and  all  of  us  were  obliged  to  recede  from  our  pre- 
conceived ideas  of  Norwegian  character.  But  enough  of  an 
unpleasant  theme  ;  I  would  rather  praise  than  blame,  any 
day,  but  I  can  neither  praise  nor  be  silent  when  censure  is  a 
part  of  the  truth. 

I  had  a  long  conversation  with  a  distinguished  Norwegian, 
on  the  condition  of  the  country  people.  He  differed  with 
me  in  the  opinion  that  the  clergy  were  to  some  extent  re- 
sponsible for  their  filthy  and  licentious  habits,  asserting  that, 
though  the  latter  were  petits  seigneurs,  with  considerable 
privileges  and  powers,  the  people  were  jealously  suspicious 
of  any  attempt  to  exert  an  influence  upon  their  lives.  But 
is  no.t  this  a  natural  result  of  the  preaching  of  doctrinal 
religion,  of  giving  an  undue  value  to  external  forms  and 
ceremonies  ?  "  We  have  a  stubborn  people,"  said  my  infor- 
mant ;  "  their  excessive  self  esteem  makes  them  difficult  to 
manage.  Besides,  their  morals  are  perhaps  better  than 
would  be  inferred  from  the  statistics.  Old  habits  have  been 
retained,  in  many  districts,  which  are  certainly  reprehensible, 
but  which  spring  from  custom  rather  than  depravity.  I 
wish  they  were  less  vain  and  sensitive,  since  in  that  case 
they  would  improve  more  rapidly."  He  stated  also  that  the 
surprising  number  of  illegitimate  births  is  partly  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  there  are  a  great  number  of  connections 
which  have  all  the  character  of  marriage  except  the  actual 
ceremony.  This  is  an  affair  of  considerable  cost  and  show; 
and  many  of  the  poorer  people,  unable  to  afford  it,  live  to- 
gether rather  than  wait,  hoping  that  a  time  may  come  when 


400  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

they  will  be  able  to  defray  the  expenses,  and  legitimate  the 
children  who  may  meanwhile  be  born.  In  some  cases  the 
parties  disagree,  the  connection  is  broken  off,  and  each  one 
seeks  a  new  mate.  Whatever  palliation  there  may  be  in 
particular  instances,  the  moral  eifect  of  this  custom  is  un- 
questionably bad  ;  and  the  volume  of  statistics  recently  pub 
lished  by  Herr  Sundt,  who  was  appointed  by  the  Storthing 
to  investigate  the  subject,  shows  that  there  is  no  agricultural 
population  in  the  world  which  stands  lower  in  the  scale  of 
chastity,  than  that  of  Norway. 

In  the  course  of  our  conversation,  the  gentleman  gave  an 
amusing  instance  of  the  very  sensitiveness  which  he  con- 
demned. I  happened,  casually,  to  speak  of  the  Icelandic 
language.  "  The  Icelandic  language !"  he  exclaimed.  "  So 
you  also  in  America  call  it  Icelandic ;  but  you  ought  to 
know  that  it  is  Norwegian.  It  is  the  same  language  spoken 
by  the  Norwegian  Vikings  who  colonised  Iceland — the  olc 
Norsk,  which  originated  here,  and  was  merely  carried  thither.'- 
"  We  certainly  have  some  reason,"  I  replied,  "  seeing  that  it 
now  only  exists  in  Iceland,  and  has  not  been  spoken  in  Nor- 
way for  centuries ;  but  let  me  ask  why  you,  speaking 
Danish,  call  your  language  Norsk."  "  Our  language,  as 
written  and  printed,  is  certainly  pure  Danish,"  said  he; 
u  but  there  is  some  difference  of  accent  in  speaking  it."  He 
did  not  add  that  this  difference  is  strenuously  preserved  and 
even  increased  by  the  Norwegians,  that  they  may  not  be 
suspected  of  speaking  Danish,  while  they  resist  with  equal 
zeal,  any  approach  to  the  Swedish.  Often,  in  thoughtlessly 
speaking  of  the  language  as  Danish,  I  have  heard  the  ill- 


NORWAY    AND   SWEDEN.  401 

humoured  reply,  "  Our  language  is  not  Danish,  but  Norsk.'' 
As  well  might  we  say  at  home,  "  We  speak  American,  not 
English." 

I  had  the  good  fortune  to  find  Professor  Munck,  the  his- 
torian of  Norway,  at  home,  though  on  the  eve  of  leaving  foi 
Italy.  He  is  one  of  the  few  distinguished  literary  names 
the  country  has  produced.  Holberg  the  comedian  was  born 
in  Bergen ;  but  he  is  generally  classed  among  the  Danish 
authors.  In  art,  however,  Norway  takes  no  mean  rank,  the 
names  of  her  painters  Dahl,  Gude,  and  Tidemand  having  a 
European  reputation.  Professor  Munck  is  about  fifty  years 
of  age,  and  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Viking  stock.  He  speaks 
English  fluently,  and  I  regretted  that  the  shortness  of  my 
stay  did  not  allow  me  to  make  further  drafts  on  his  surplus 
intelligence.  In  the  Museum  of  Northern  Antiquities, 
which  is  small,  as  compared  with  that  of  Copenhagen,  but 
admirably  arranged,  I  made  the  .acquaintance  of  Professor 
Keyser,  the  author  of  a  very  interesting  work,  on  the  "  Re- 
ligion of  Northmen,"  a  translation  of  which  by  Mr.  Bar- 
clay Pennock,  appeared  in  New  York,  some  three  years  ago. 

I  was  indebted  to  Professor  Munck,  for  a  sight  of  the 
Storthing,  or  National  Legislative  Assembly,  which  was 
then  in  session.  The  large  hall  of  the  University,  a  semi- 
circular room,  something  like  our  Senate  Chamber,  has  been 
given  up  to  its  use.  until  an  appropriate  building  shall  be 
erected.  The  appearance  and  conduct  of  the  body  striking- 
ly reminded  me  of  one  of  our  State  Legislatures.  The 
members  were  plain,  practical-looking  men,  chosen  from  all 
classes,  and  without  any  distinguishing  mark  of  dress  The 
speaker  was  quite  a  young  man,  with  a  moustache.  Schwe 


402  NORTHERN   TRAVEL 

igaard.  the  first  jurist  in  Norway,  was  speaking  as  we  en> 
tered.  The  hall  is  very  badly  constructed  for  sound,  and  1 
conld  not  understand  the  drift  of  his  speech,  but  was  exceed- 
ingly  struck  hy  the  dryness  of  his  manner.  The  Norwegian 
Constitution  has  been  in  operation  forty -three  years,  and  its 
provisions,  in  most  respects  so  just  and  liberal,  have  been 
most  thoroughly  and  satisfactorily  tested.  The  Swedes  and 
a  small  conservative  party  in  Norway,  would  willingly  see 
the  powers  of  the  Storthing  curtailed  a  little  ;  but  the  people 
now  know  what  they  have  got,  and  are  further  than  ever 
from  yielding  any  part  of  it.  In  the  house  of  almost  every 
Norwegian  fanner,  one  sees  the  constitution,  with  the  /V/e- 
simile  autographs  of  its  signers,  framed  and  conspicuously 
hung  up.  The  reproach  has  been  made,  that  it  is  not  an 
original  instrument — that  it  is  merely  a  translation  of  the 
Spanish  Constitution  of  1812,  a  copy  of  the  French  Con- 
stitution of  1791,  &c. ;  but  it  is  none  the  worse  for  that. 
Its  framers  at  least  had  the  wisdom  to  produce  the  right 
thing  at  thf  right  time,  and  by  their  resolution  and  deter- 
mined attitude  to  change  a  subject  province  into  a  free  and 
independent  state :  for,  carefully  guarded  as  it  is,  the  union 
with  Sweden  is  only  a  source  of  strength  and  security. 

One  peculiarity  of  the  Storthing  is,  that  a  majority  of 
its  members  are,  an3  necessarily  must  be,  farmers  :  whence 
Norway  is  sometimes  nicknamed  the  Farmer  State.  Nat- 
irallv,  they  take  very  good  care  of  their  own  interests,  one 
of  their  first  steps  being  to  abolish  all  taxes  on  landed  prop- 
erty, but  in  other  respects  I  cannot  learn  that  their  rule  i 
not  as  equitable  as  that  of  most  legislative  bodies.  Mugge, 
in  his  recently  published  Nordisches  Bilderbuch  (North erv 


NORWAY  AND  SWEDEN  403 

Picture  Book),  gives  an  account  of  a  conversation  which  he 
had  with  a  Swedish  statesman  on  this  subject.  The  latter 
was  complaining  of  the  stubbornness  and  ignorance  of  the 
Norwegian  farmers.  Mugge  asked,  (the  remainder  of  the 
dialogue  is  too  good  to  be  omitted) : — 

"  The  Storthing,  then,  consists  of  a  majority  of  coarse 
and  ignorant  people  ?" 

STATESMAN.  "  I  will  not  assert  that.  A  certain  practical 
understanding  cannot  be  denied  to  most  of  these  farmers, 
and  they  often  bestow  on  their  sons  a  good  education  before 
giving  them  the  charge  of  the  paternal  fields.  One,  there- 
fore, finds  in  the  country  many  accomplished  men :  how 
could  there  be  700  students  in  Christiania,  if  there  were 
not  many  farmers'  sons  among  them  ?" 

AUTHOR.  "  But  does  this  majority  of  farmers  in  the 
Storthing  commit  absurdities  ?  does  it  govern  the  country 
badly,  burden  it  with  debts  or  enact  unjust  laws  ?" 

STATESMAN.  "  That  cannot  exactly  be  admitted,  although 
this  majority  naturally  gives  its  own  interests  the  prefer- 
ence, and  shapes  the  government  accordingly.  The  state  has 
no  debts  ;  on  the  contrary,  its  treasury  is  full,  an  abundance 
of  silver,  its  bank-notes  in  demand,  order  everywhere,  and, 
as  you  see,  an  increase  of  prosperity,  with  a  flourishing  com 
rnerce.  Here  lies  a  statement  before  me,  according  to  which, 
in  the  last  six  months  alone,  more  than  a  hundred  vessels 
have  been  launched  in  different  ports.'' 

AUTHOR.  "  The  Farmer-Legislature,  then,  as  I  remark, 
takes  care  of  itself,  but  is  niggardly  and  avaricious  when  ita 
own  interests  are  not  concerned  ?" 

STATESMAN.    "It  is  a  peculiar  state  of  affairs.     In  very 


404  NORTHERN*   TRAVEL. 

many  respects  this  reproach  cannot  be  made  against  tlu.  far- 
mers. If  anything  is  to  be  done  for  science,  or  for  so-called 
utilitarian  objects,  they  are  always  ready  to  give  money.  li 
a  deserving  man  is  to  be  assisted,  if  means  are  wanted  for 

O 

beneficial  purposes,  insane  asylums,  hospitals,  schools,  and 
auch  like  institutions,  the  Council  of  State  is  always  sure 
that  it  will  encounter  no  opposition.  On  other  occasions 
however,  these  lords  of  the  land  are  as  hard  and  tough  a 
Norwegian  pines,  and  button  up  their  pockets  so  tight  that 
not  a  dollar  drops  out." 

"  AUTHOR.     "  On  what  occasions?" 

STATESMAN.  "  Why,  you  see  (shrugging  his  shoulders); 
those  farmers  have  not  the  least  comprehension  of  states- 
manship !  As  soon  as  there  is  any  talk  of  appropriations 
for  increasing  the  army,  or  the  number  of  officers,  or  the 
pay  of  foreign  ministers,  or  the  salaries  of  high  official  per- 
sons, or  anything  of  that  sort,  you  can't  do  anything  with 
them." 

AUTHOR.  (To  himself.)  "  God  keep  them  a  long  time 
without  a  comprehension  of  statesmanship!  If  I  were  a 
member  of  the  Storthing,  I  would  have  as  thick  a  head  as 
the  rest  of  them.'' 

On  the  5th  of  September,  Braisted  and  I  took  passage 
for  Gottenburg,  my  friend  having  already  gone  home  by 
way  of  Kiel.  We  had  a  smooth  sea  and  an  agreeable  voy- 
age, and  awoke  the  next  morning  in  Sweden.  On  the  day 
after  our  arrival,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  suburb  of  Haga, 
which  consumed  thirteen  large  houses,  and  turned  more  than 
two  hundred  poor  people  out  of  doors.  This  gave  me  an 
opportunity  to  see  how  fires  are  managed  here.  It  was  full 


NORWAY   AND   SWEDEN.  405 

half  an  hour  after  the  alarm-bell  was  rung  before  the  first 
engine  began  to  play  ;  the  water  had  to  be  hauled  from  the 
eanal,  and  the  machine,  of  a  very  small  and  antiquated  pat- 
tern, contributed  little  towards  stopping  the  progress  of  the 
flames.  The  intervention  of  a  row  of  gardens  alone  saved 
the  whole  suburb  from  destruction.  There  must  have  been 
from  six  to  eight  thousand  spectators  present,  scattered  all 
over  the  rocky  knolls  which  surround  Gottenburg.  The 
fields  were  covered  with  piles  of  household  furniture  and 
clothing,  yet  no  guard  seemed  to  be  necessary  for  their  pro- 
tection, and  the  owners  showed  no  concern  for  their  security. 
There  is  a  degree  of  confidence  exhibited  towards  stran- 
gers in  Sweden,  especially  in  hotels,  at  post-stations,  and  on 
board  the  inland  steamers,  which  tells  well  for  the  general 
honesty  of  the  people.  We  went  on  board  the  steamer 
Werner  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  hut,  first  paid  our  pas- 
sage two  days  afterwards,  just  before  reaching  Carlstad.  An 
account  book  hangs  up  in  the  cabin,  in  which  each  passen- 
ger enters  the  number  of  meals  or  other  refreshments  he 
has  had,  makes  his  own  bill  and  hands  over  the  amount  to 
the  stewardess.  In  posting,  the  skju/sboiider  very  often  do  not 
know  the  rates,  and  take  implicitly  what  the  traveller  gives 
them.  I  have  yet  to  experience  the  first  attempt  at  imposi- 
tion in  Sweden.  The  only  instances  I  heard  of  were  re- 
lated to  me  by  Swedes  themselves,  a  large  class  of  whom 
make  a  point  of  depreciating  their  own  country  and  char- 
acter. This  habit  of  detraction  is  carried  to  quite  as  great 
an  3Xtreme  as  the  vanity  of  the  Norwegians,  and  is  the  less 
pardonable  vice  of  the  two. 

It  was  a  pleasant  thing  to  hear  again  the  musical  Swed 
18* 


NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

ish  tongue,  .and  to  exchange  the  indifference  and  reserve  oi 
Norway  for  the  friendly,  genial,  courteous  manner  of  Swed 
en.  What  I  have  said  about  the  formality  and  affectation 
of  manners,  and  the  rigidity  of  social  etiquette,  in  the  chap- 
ters relating  to  Stockholm,  was  meant  to  apply  especially  to 
the  capital.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  censure  that  natural  and 
Spontaneous  courtesy  which  is  a  characteristic  of  the  whole 
eople.  The  more  I  see  of  the  Swedes,  the  more  I  am  con- 
vinced that  there  is  no  kinder,  simpler,  and  honester  people 
in  the  world.  With  a  liberal  common  school  system,  a  fair- 
er representation,  and  release  from  the  burden  of  a  state 
church,  they  would  develope  rapidly  and  nobly. 

Our  voyage  from  Gottenburg  to  Carlstad,  on  the  Wener 
Lake,  had  but  one  noteworthy  point — the  Falls  of  Troll- 
hitten.  Even  had  I  not  not  been  fresh  from  the  Riukan- 
Foss,  which  was  still  flashing  in  my  memory,  I  should  have 
been  disappointed  in  this  renowned  cataract.  It  is  not  a 
single  fall,  but  four  successive  descents,  within  the  distance 
of  half  a  mile,  none  of  them  being  over  twenty  feet  in  per- 
pendicular height.  The  ToppS  Fall  is  the  only  one  which 
at  all  impressed  me,  and  that  principally  through  its  re- 
markable form.  The  huge  mass  of  the  G6tha  River, 
squeezed  between  two  rocks,  slides  down  a  plane  with  an 
inclination  of  about  50°,  strikes  a  projecting  rock  at  the 
bottom,  and  takes  an  upward  curve,  flinging  tremendous 
volumes  of  spray,  or  rather  broken  water,  into  the  air.  The 
bright  emerald  face  of  the  watery  plane  is  covered  with  a 
network  of  silver  threads  of  shifting  spray,  and  gleams  oi 
pale  blue  and  purple  light  play  among  the  shadows  of  fchc 
rising  globes  of  foam  below. 


T«AMP  THROUOli   W ERMELAND  AND  DAI.ECARLIA.         4Q7 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

A    TRAMP    THROUGH    WERMELAND    AND    DALECARLIA. 

ON  leaving  Carlstadour  route  lay  northward  up  the  val- 
ley of  the  Klar  Elv,  in  the  province  of  Werineland,  and 
thence  over  the  hills,  by  way  of  Westerdale,  in  Dalecarlia, 
to  the  head  of  the  Siljan  Lake.  The  greater  part  of  this 
region  is  almost  unknown  to  travellers,  and  belongs  to  the 
poorest  and  wildest  parts  of  Sweden.  We  made  choice  of 
it  for  this  reason,  that  we  might  become  acquainted  with 
the  people  in  their  true  character,  and  compare  them  with 
the  same  class  in  Norway.  Our  heavy  luggage  had  all  been 
gent  on  to  Stockholm,  in  the  charge  of  an  Irish  friend,  and 
we  retained  no  more  than  could  be  carried  easily  in  two 
packs,  as  we  anticipated  being  obliged  to  perform  part  of  the 
journey  on  foot. 

It  rained  in  torrents  during  the  day  we  spent  in  Carl- 
gtad,  and  some  lumber  merchants  of  Gottenburg,  who  were 
on  their  way  to  Fryxendal,  to  superintend  the  getting  down 
of  their  rafts,  predicted  that  the  deluge  would  last  an  entire 
month.  T>  ere  was  always  a  month  of  rainy  weather  at 
this  season  they  said,  and  we  had  better  give  up  our  pro- 
posed journey.  We  trusted  to  our  combined  good  luck 


408  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

however,  and  wero  not  deceived,  for,  with  the  exception  of 
two  days,  we  had  charming  weather  during  the  remaindei 
of  our  stay  in  Sweden.  Having  engaged  a  two- horse  cart 
for  the  first  post-station,  we  left  Carlstad  on  the  morning 
of  the  llth  of  September.  The  clouds  were  still  heavy,  but 
gradually  rolled  into  compacter  masses,  giving  promise  of 
breaking  away.  The  city  is  built  upon  a  little  island  at 
the  head  of  the  lake,  whence  we  crossed  to  the  mainland  by 
a  strong  old  bridge.  Our  road  led  eastward  through  a 
slightly  undulating  country,  where  broad  woods  of  fir  and 
birch  divided  the  large,  well  cultivated  farms.  'Vhegards, 
or  mansions,  which  we  passed,  with  their  gardens  and  orna- 
mental shrubbery,  gave  evidence  of  comfort  and  competence. 
The  people  were  in  the  harvest-fields,  cutting  oats,  which 
they  piled  upon  stakes  to  dry.  Every  one  we  met  saluted 
us  courteously,  with  a  cheerful  and  friendly  air,  which  was 
all  the  uiore  agreeable  by  contrast  with  the  Norwegian  re- 
serve. 

At  the  station,  Prestegard,  we  procured  a  good  breakfast 
of  ham,  eggs,  and  potatoes,  and  engaged  two  carts  to  take 
us  further.  We  now  turned  northward  over  a  lovely  rolling 
country,  watered  with  frequent  streams, — a  land  of  soft  out- 
lines, of  woods  and  swelling  knolls,  to  which  the  stately  old 
houses  gave  an  expression  of  contentment  and  household 
happiness.  At  Deye  we  left  our  carts,  shouldered  our  packs, 
and  trnJged  off  on  foot  up  the  valley  of  the  Klar  Elv,  which 
is  here  a  broad  lazy  stream,  filled  with  tens  of  thousand! 
of  pine  logs,  waiting  to  be  carried  down  to  the  Wener  by 
the  first  freshet.  The  scenery  charmed  us  by  its  rich  and 
•juiet  beauty  ;  it  was  without  grand  or  striking  features,  buf 


A   TR\MP  THRorr.H  WERMEI.AKD  AND  DALECARLIA. 

gently  undulating,  peaceful,  and  home-like.  We  found 
walking  very  fatiguing  in  the  hot  sun  which  blazed  upon 
us  all  the  afternoon  with  a  summer  heat.  The  handsome 
residences  and  gardens,  which  we  occasionally  passed,  gave 
evidence  of  taste  and  refinement  in  their  possessors,  and 
there  was  a  pleasant  grace  in  the  courteous  greetings  of  the 
country  people  whom  we  met.  Towards  evening  we  reached 
a  post-station,  and  were  tired  enough  to  take  horses  again 
It  was  after  dark  before  we  drew  up  at  Ohlsftter,  in  the 
heart  of  Wermeland.  Here  we  found  a  neat,  comfortable 
room,  with  clean  beds,  and  procured  a  supper  of  superb 
potatoes.  The  landlord  was  a  tall,  handsome  fellow,  whose 
friendly  manners,  and  frank  face,  breathing  honesty  and 
kindness  in  every  lineament,  quite  won  my  heart.  Were 
there  more  such  persons  in  the  world,  it  would  be  a  pleasant- 
er  place  of  residence. 

We  took  horses  and  bone-shattering  carts  in  the  morning, 
for  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles  up  the  valley  of  the  Klar 
Rlv.  The  country  was  very  picturesque  and  beautiful,  well 
cultivated,  and  quite  thickly  settled.  The  wood  in  the  shel- 
tered bed  of  the  valley  was  of  remarkably  fine  growth ;  the 
birch  trees  were  the  largest  I  ever  saw,  some  of  them  being 
over  one  hundred  feet  in  height.  Comfortable  residences; 
with  orchards  and  well-kept  gardens  attached,  were  quite 
frequent,  and  large  saw- mills  along  the  river,  which  in  som( 
places  was  entirely  concealed  by  floating  rafts  of  lumber, 
gave  an  air  of  industry  and  animation  to  the  landscape.  In 
3ne  I'l.-ice  the  road  was  spanned,  for  a  considerable  distance 
with  triumphal  arches  of  foliage.  I  inquired  the  meaning 
of  this  display  of  the  boy  who  accompanied  us.  "  Why/ 


410  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

Baid  he,  "  there  was  a  wedding  a  week  ago,  at  the  herregard 
(gentleman's  residence) ;  the  young  Herr  got  married,  and 
these  arches  were  put  up  for  him  and  his  bride."  The  herre- 
gard,  which  we  passed  soon  afterwards,  was  an  imposing 
mansion,  upon  an  eminence  overlooking  the  valley.  Be* 
side  it  was  a  jernbiitk,  or  iron-works,  from  which  a  tram 
way,  some  miles  in  length,  led  to  the  mines. 

Resuming  our  knapsacks,  we  walked  on  up  the  valley. 
The  hills  on  either  side  increased  in  height,  and  gloomed 
darkly  under  a  threatening  sky.     The  aspect  of  the  country 
gradually  became  wilder,  though,  wherever  there  was  culti- 
vation, it  bore  the  same  evidence  of  thrift  and  prosperity. 
After  a  steady  walk  of  four  hours,  we  reached  the  village  of 
Rada,  where  our  road  left  the  beautiful  Klar  Elv,  and  struck 
northwards  towards  Westerdal,  in  Dalecarlia.     We  procured 
a  dinner  of  potatoes  and  bacon,  with  excellent  ale,  enjoying, 
meanwhile,  a  lovely  view  over  a  lake  to  the  eastward,  which 
stretched  away  for  ten  miles  between  the  wooded  hills.    The 
evening  was  cold  and  raw:  we  drove  through  pine -woods, 
around  the  head  of  the  lake,  and  by  six  o'clock  reached  Asp- 
lund,  a  miserable  little  hamlet  on  a  dreary  hill.     The  post- 
station  was  a  forlorn  cottage  with  a  single  room,  not  of  the 
most  inviting  appearance.     1  asked  if  we  could  get  quarters 
for  the  night.     "  If  you  will  stay,  of  course  you  ca«,''  said 
the  occupant,  an  old  woman ;  "  but  there  is  no  bed,  and  I 
<san  get  you  horses  directly  to  go  on."     It  was  a  distance  of 
thirteen  miles  to  the  next  station,  but  we  yielded  to  the  old 
woman's  hint,  and  set  forward.     The  road  led  through  woods 
ffhich  seemed  interminable.     We  were  jammed  together  intc 
i  little  two-wheeled  cart,  with  the  boy  between  our  knees 


A  TRAMP  THROUGH  WERMELAND   AND   DALECARIJA.  41  I 

He  seemed  much  disinclined  to  hurry  the  horse,  but  soon 
fell  asleep,  and  one  of  us  held  him  by  the  collar  to  prevent 
his  tumbling  out,  while  the  other  took  the  lines,  and  urged 
an  our  slow  beast.  The  night  was  so  dark  that  we  had  great 
difficulty  in  keeping  the  road,  but  towards  eleven  o'clock  w 
emerged  from  the  woods,  and  found,  by  shaking  the  boy 
that  we  were  approaching  the  station  at  last.  This  was  a 
little  place  called  Laggasen,  on  the  nothern  frontier  ol 
Wermeland. 

Everybody  had  gone  to  bed  in  the  hut  at  which  we 
Btopped.  We  entered  the  kitchen,  which  was  at  the  same 
time  the  bed-room,  and  aroused  the  inmates,  who  consisted 
of  a  lonely  woman,  with  two  or  three  children.  She  got  up 
in  a  very  scanty  chemise,  lit  a  wooden  splinter,  and  inspected 
us,  and,  in  answer  to  our  demand  for  a  bed,  informed  us  that 
we  would  have  to  lie  upon  the  floor.  We  were  about  to  do 
this,  when  she  said  we  could  get  good  quarters  at  the  Nore, 
on  the  top  of  the  hill.  Her  earnestness  in  persuading  us  to 
go  made  me  suspect  that  she  merely  wanted  to  get  rid  of  us, 
and  I  insisted  that  she  should  accompany  us  to  show  the  way. 
After  some  hesitation  she  consented,  and  we  set  out  We 
first  crossed  a  broad  swamp,  on  a  road  made  of  loose  logs, 
then  climbed  a  hill,  and  trudged  for  some  distance  across 
Btubble-fields,  until  my  patience  was  quite  worn  out,  and 
Braisted  made  use  of  some  powerful  maritime  expressions, 
Finally,  we  reached  a  house,  which  we  entered  without  more 
ado.  The  close,  stifling  atmosphere,  and  the  sound  of  hard 
breathing  on  all  sides,  showed  us  that  a  whole  family  had 
been  for  some  hours  asleep  there.  Our  guide  thumped  on  the 
door,  and  hailed,  and  at  length  somebody  awoke.  "  Can  yon 


412  NORTHERN    TRAVEL. 

give  twc  travellers  a  bed  ?"  she  asked.  "  No "  was  the 
comfortable  reply,  followed  by  the  yell  of  an  aroused  baby, 
and  the  noises  of  the  older  children.  We  retreated  at  once, 
and  opened  a  battery  of  reproaches  on  the  old  woman  for 
Having  brought  us  on  a  fool's  errand.  "  There  is  Ohlsen's,': 
she  replied,  very  quietly,  "I  think  I  can  get  you  a  bed 
there."  Whereupon  we  entered  another  house  in  the  same 
unceremonious  manner,  but  with  a  better  result.  A  plump 
good  natured  housewife  jumped  out  of  bed,  went  to  an  op- 
posite door,  and  thumped  upon  it.  "  Lars !"  she  cried, 
''  come  out  of  that  this  minute !"  As  we  entered,  with  a 
torch  of  dry  fir,  Lars,  who  proved  to  be  a  middle-aged  man, 
got  out  of  bed  sleepily,  picked  up  his  clothes  and  inarched 
off.  The  hostess  then  brought  clean  sheets  and  pillow-cases, 
and  by  midnight  we  were  sweetly  and  blissfully  stowed 
away  together  in  the  place  vacated  by  poor  Lars. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  kindness  and  courtesy  of  the 
good  people  in  the  morning.  The  hostess  brought  us  coffee, 
and  her  son  went  off  to  get  us  a  horse  and  cart  She  would 
make  no  charge,  as  we  had  had  so  little,  she  said,  and  was 
quite  grateful  for  the  moderate  sum  I  gave  her.  We  had  a 
wild  road  over  hills,  covered  with  pine  forests,  through  the 
breaks  in  which  we  now  and  then  caught  a  glimpse  of  a 
long  lake  to  the  wt-stward,  shining  with  a  steel-blue  gleam 
ji  the  morning  sun.  There  were  but  few  clearings  along 
the  road,  and  miles  frequently  intervened  without  a  sign  of 
buman  habitation.  We  met,  however,  with  great  numbers 
of  travellers,  mostly  farmers,  with  laden  hay-carts.  It  was 
Sunday  morning,  and  I  could  not  help  contrasting  thew 
people  with  those  we  had  seen  on  the  same  day  three  week* 


»   TRAMP  THROUGH   WERMELAND   ANk,   DALECARLIA.  413 

previous  whilst  crossing  the  Fille  Fjeld.  Here,  every  on< 
bad  evidently  been  washed  and  combed :  the  men  wore  clean 
shirts  and  stockings,  and  the  women  chemises  of  snowy 
whiteness  under  their  gay  boddices.  They  were  mostly 
Dalecarlians,  in  the  picturesque  costume  of  the  province. 
We  entered  Dalecarlia  on  this  stage,  and  the  frank  fresh 
faces  of  these  people,  their  unmistakeable  expression  of  hon- 
esty and  integrity,  and  the  hearty  cordiality  of  their  greet- 
ings, welcomed  us  delightfully  to  the  storied  ground  01 
Sweden. 

Towards  noon  we  reached  the  village  of  TyngsjO,  a  little 
settlement  buried  in  the  heart  of  the  wild  woods.  A  mile 
or  two  of  the  southern  slope  of  a  hill  had  been  cleared  away, 
and  over  this  a  number  of  dark  wooden  farmhouses  were 
scattered,  with  oats  and  potato-fields  around  them.  An  odd 
little  church  stood  in  midst,  and  the  rich  swell  of  a  hymn, 
Bung  by  sweet  Swedish  voices,  floated  to  us  over  the  fields  as 
we  drove  up  to  the  post-station.  The  master,  a  tall,  slender 
man,  with  yellow  locks  falling  upon  his  shoulders,  and  a  face 
which  might  be  trusted  with  millions,  welcomed  us  with  a 
fine  antique  courtesy,  and  at  once  sent  off  for  horses.  In  a 
little  while  three  farmers  came,  saluting  us  gracefully,  and 
standing  bareheaded  while  they  spoke  to  us.  One  of  them, 
who  wore  a  dark  brown  jacket  and  knee-breeches,  with  a 
clean  white  shirt  and  stockings,  had  a  strikingly  beautiful 
head.  The  face  was  a  perfect  oval,  the  eyes  large  and  dark, 
»nd  the  jet-black  hair,  parted  on  the  forehead,  fell  in  silky 
waves  upon  his  shoulders.  He  was  as  handsome  and  grace- 
ful as  one  of  Vandyk's  cavaliers,  and  showed  the  bom  gen- 
tleman in  his  demeanour.  He  proposed  that  we  should  tak« 


414  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

one  horse,  as  it  conld  be  gotten  without  delay,  while  twc 
(which  the  law  obliged  us  to  take  and  pay  for,  if  the  farmers 
chose),  would  have  detained  us  an  hour.  As  the  women  were 
in  church,  the  post-master  himself  cooked  us  some  freshly- 
dug  potatoes,  which,  with  excellent  butter,  he  set  before  us 
*  I  have  a  kind  of  ale,"  said  he,  "  which  is  called  porter ;  if 
you  will  try  it,  perhaps  you  will  like  it."  It  was,  in  reality, 
90  good;  that  we  took  a  second  bottle  with  us  for  refreshment 
tn  the  road.  When  I  asked  how  much  we  should  pay,  he 
said :  "  I  don't  think  you  should  pay  anything,  there  was  so 
little."  "  Well,"  said  I,  "  It  is  worth  at  least  half  a  rigs- 
daler."  "  Oh,  but  that  may  be  too  much,"  he  answered 
hesitatingly. 

Our  postillion  was  a  fine  handsome  fellow,  so  rosy  and 
robust  that  it  made  one  feel  stronger  and  healthier  to  sit 
beside  him.  He  did  not  spare  the  horse,  which  was  a  big, 
capable  animal,  and  we  rolled  along  through  endless  forests 
of  fir  and  pine  as  rapidly  as  the  sandy  road  would  allow. 
After  we  had  gone  about  eight  miles  he  left  us,  taking  a 
shorter  foot-path  through  the  woods.  We  guessed  at  our 
proper  direction,  sometimes  taking  the  wrong  road,  but 
finally,  after  two  hours  or  more,  emerged  from  the  woods 
into  Westerdal,  one  of  the  two  great  valleys  from  which 
Dalecarlia  (Dalarne,  or  The  Dales)  takes  its  name.  The 
day  was  magnificent,  clear,  and  with  a  co  fl  north-east  wind 
resembling  the  latter  part  of  October  at  home.  The  broad 
level  valley,  with  its  fields  and  clustered  villages,  lay  before 
as  in  the  pale,  cold  autumnal  sunshine,  with  low  blue  hillg 
bounding  it  in  the  distance.  We  met  many  parties  in  carts 
either  returning  from  church,  :>r  on  their  way  to  visit  neigh- 


a.   TBAMP  THROUGH   WERMEI.AND   AND   DALECARUA  415 

hours.  All  were  in  brilliant  Sunday  costume,  the  men  in 
blue  jackets  and  knee-breeches,  with  vests  of  red  or  some 
other  brilliant  colour,  and  the  women  with  gay  embroidered 
boddices,  white  sleeves,  and  striped  petticoats  of  blue,  red, 
brown,  and  purple,  and  scarlet  stockings.  Some  of  them 
wore,  in  addition,  an  outer  jacket  of  snowy  sheepskin,  with 
elaborate  ornamental  stitch- work  on  the  back.  Their  faces 
were  a?  frank  and  cheerful  as  their  dresses  were  tidy,  and 
they  all  Greeted  us  with  that  spontaneous  goodness  of  heart 
which  recognises  a  brother  in  every  man.  We  had  again 
taken  a  wronir  road,  and  a  merry  party  carefully  set  us 
risrht  asrain.  one  old  lady  even  proposing  to  leave  her  friends 
and  accompany  us.  for  fear  we  should  go  astray  again. 

We  crossed  the  Westerdal  by  a  floating  bridge,  and  to- 
wards sunset  reached  the  inn  of  Ragsveden.  our  destination. 
It  WHS  a  farmer's  rrfirr/,  standing  a  little  distance  off  the 
road.  An  entrance  through  one  of  the  buildings,  closed 
with  double  doors,  admitted  us  into  the  courtyard,  a  hollow 
square,  surrounded  with  two  story  wooden  dwellings,  painted 
dark  red.  There  seemed  to  be  no  one  at  home,  but  after 
knocking  and  calling  for  a  time  an  old  man  made  his  ap- 
pearance. He  was  in  his  second  childhood,  but  knew  enough 
to  usher  us  into  the  kitchen  and  ask  us  to  wait  for  the  land- 
lord's arrival.  After  half  an  hour  our  postillion  arrived 
with  fonr  or  five  men  in  their  gayest  and  trimmest  costume 
the  landlord  amon<r  them.  They  immediately  asked  who 
and  what  we  were,  and  we  were  then  obliged  to  give  them 
an  account  of  all  our  travels.  Their  questions  were  shrewd 
»nd  intelligent,  and  their  manner  of  asking,  coupled  as  it 
was  with  their  native  courtesv,  showed  an  earnest  desire  foi 


J16  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

information,  which  we  were  most  willing  to  gratify.  By 
and  by  the  hostess  came,  and  we  were  ushered  into  a  v  srj 
pleasant  room,  with  two  beds,  and  furnished  with  a  suppei 
of  fresh  meat,  potatoes,  and  mead.  The  landlord  and  two 
or  three  of  the  neighbours  sat  with  us  before  the  fire  until 
we  were  too  sleepy  to  answer  any  more  questions.  A  more 
naturally  independent  and  manly  bearing  I  have  never  seen 
than  that  of  our  host.  He  was  a  tall,  powerful  man,  of 
middle  age,  with  very  handsome  features,  which  were  soft- 
ened but  not  weakened  in  expression  by  his  long  blond  hair, 
parted  on  his  forehead.  He  had  the  proper  pride  which  be- 
longs to  the  consciousness  of  worth,  and  has  no  kinship  with 
empty  vanity.  "  We  have  come  to  Dalecarlia  to  see  the 
descendants  of  the  people  who  gave  Gustavus  Vasa  his 
throne,"  said  I,  curious  to  see  whether  he  would  betray  any 
signs  of  flattered  pride.  His  blue  eye  flashed  a  little,  as  he 
Bat  with  his  hands  clasped  over  one  knee,  gazing  at  the  fire, 
a  light  flush  ran  over  his  temples — but  he  said  nothing, 
Some  time  ago  a  proposition  was  made  to  place  a  portrait 
of  Gustavus  Vasa  in  the  church  at  Mora.  "  No,"  said  the 
Dalecarlians,  " we  will  not  have  it:  we  do  not  need  any 
picture  to  remind  us  >f  what  our  fathers  have  done." 

The  landlady  was  a  little  woman,  who  confessed  to  being 
forty-nine  years  old,  although  she  did  not  appear  to  be  more 
than  forty.  "  I  have  had  a  great  deal  of  headache,"  said 
she,  "  and  I  look  much  older  than  I  am."  Her  teeth  were 
superb,  as  were  those  of  all  the  women  we  saw.  I  do  not  sup- 
pose a  tooth-brush  is  known  in  the  valley  ;  yet  the  teeth 
one  sees  are  perfect  pearls  The  use  of  so  much  sour  milk 
ib  said  to  preserve  them.  There  was  a  younger  person  in 


A  TRAMP  THROUGH  WERMELAND  AND  DALECARUA.          417 

the  house,  whom  we  took  to  be  a  girl  of  sixteen,  but  whc 
proved  to  be  the  son's  wife,  a  woman  of  twenty-six,  and  the 
mother  of  two  or  three  children.  The  Dalecarlians  marry 
young  when  they  are  able,  but  even  in  opposite  cases  they 
arely  commit  any  violation  of  the  laws  of  morality.  In- 
itances  are  frequent,  I  was  told,  where  a  man  and  woman, 
unable  to  defray  the  expense  of  marriage,  live  together  for 
years  in  a  state  of  mutual  chastity,  until  they  have  saved  n 
sum  sufficient  DO  enable  them  to  assume  the  responsibilities 
of  married  life.  I  know  there  is  no  honester,  and  I  doubt 
whether  there  is  a  purer,  people  on  the  earth  than  these 
Dalecarlians. 

We  awoke  to  another  glorious  autumnal  day.  The  val- 
ley was  white  with  frost  in  the  morning,  and  the  air  delici- 
ously  keen  and  cold  ;  but  after  sunrise  heavy  white  vapoura 
arose  from  the  spangled  srrass,  and  the  day  gradually  grew 
milder.  I  was  amused  at  the  naive  curiosity  of  the  land- 
lady and  her  daughter-in-law,  who  came  into  our  room  very 
early,  that  they  might  see  the  make  of  our  garments  and 
our  manner  of  dressing.  As  they  did  not  appear  to  be 
conscious  of  any  impropriety,  we  did  not  think  it  necessary 
to  feel  embarrassed.  Our  Lapland  journey  had  taught  us 
habits  of  self-possession  under  such  trying  circumstances 
We  had  coffee,  paid  an  absurdly  small  sum  for  our  enter- 
tainment, and  took  a  cordial  leave  of  the  good  people.  A 
boy  of  fifteen,  whose  eyes,  teeth  and  complexion  kept  my 
admiration  on  the  stretch  during  the  whole  stage,  drove  us 
through  unbroken  woods  to  Skamhed,  ten  miles  further  down 
ihe  valley.  Here  the  inn  was  a  little  one  story  hut,  miser- 
able to  behold  externally  but  containing  a  neat  guest's  room 


418  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

and  moreover,  as  we  discovered  in  the  course  of  tima--* 
good  breakfast.  While  we  were  waiting  there,  a  man  came 
np  who  greeted  us  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  on 
learning  that  we  came  from  America.  rt  Are  you  not  afraid 
to  travel  so  far  from  home  ?"  he  asked :  "  how  could  yon 
.ross  the  great  sea?"  "  Oh,"  I  answered,  "  there  is  no  more 
danger  in  one  part  of  the  world  than  another."  "  Yes," 
said  he,  "  God  is  as  near  on  the  water  as  on  the  land" — un 
consciously  repeating  the  last  words  of  Sir  Humphrey  Gil- 
bert: "Christ  walked  upon  the  waves  and  quieted  them, 
and  he  walks  yet,  for  them  that  believe  in  Him."  Here- 
upon he  began  repeating  some  hymns,  mingled  with  texts  of 
Scripture,  which  process  he  continued  until  we  became 
heartily  tired.  I  took  him  at  a  venture,  for  an  over-enthu- 
siastic Ldsare,  or  "  Reader,"  the  name  given  to  the  Swedish 
dissenters. 

We  had  a  statron  of  twenty  three  miles  before  us,  to  the 
village  of  Landbobyn.  which  lies  in  the  wooded  wilderneas 
between  Osterdal  and  Westerdal.  Our  postillion,  a  fim 
young  fellow  of  twenty-two,  over  six  feet  in  height,  put  on 
his  best  blue  jacket  and  knee-breeches,  with  a  leather  apron 
reaching  from  his  shoulders  to  below  his  knees.  This  is  an 
article  worn  by  almost  all  Dalecarlians  for  the  purpose  oi 
saving  their  clothes  while  at  work,  and  gives  them  an  awk- 
ward and  ungraceful  air.  This  fellow,  in  spite  of  a  little- 
fear  at  the  bare  idea,  expressed  his  willingness  to  go  with 
OB  all  over  the  world,  but  the  spirit  of  wandering  was  evi- 
iently  so  easy  to  be  kindled  in  him,  that  I  rather  discour- 
aged him.  We  had  a  monotonous  journey  of  five  hours 
through  a  for^t  of  pine,  fir,  and  birch,  in  which  deer  and 


A  TRAMP  THROUGH  WERMELAND  AND  DALECARUA.     419 

elk  are  frequently  met  with ;  while  the  wolf  and  the  beai 
haunt  its  remoter  valleys.  The  ground  was  but  slightly 
undulating,  and  the  scenery  in  general  was  as  tame  as  it 
was  savage. 

Landbobyn  was  a  wretched  hamlet  on  the  banks  of  a 
stream,  with  a  few  cleared  fields  about  it.  As  the  sun  had 
not  yet  set,  we  determined  to  push  on  to  Kettbo,  eight  or 
ten  miles  further,  and  engaged  a  boy  to  pilot  us  through  the 
woods.  The  post-station  was  a  miserable  place,  where  we 
found  it  impossible  to  get  anything  to  eat.  I  sat  down  and 
talked  with  the  family  while  our  guide  recruited  himself 
with  a  large  dish  of  thick  sour  milk.  "  Why  do  you  travel 
about  i/he  earth  ?"  asked  his  mother :  "  is  it  that  you  may 
epy  out  the  poverty  of  the  people  and  see  how  miserably 
they  live  ?"  "  No,"  said  I,  "  it  is  that  I  may  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  people,  whether  they  are  poor  or  not." 
*  But,"  she  continued,  "  did  you  ever  see  a  people  poorer  than 
we?"  "  Often,"  said  I ;  "  because  you  are  contented,  and  no 
one  can  be  entirely  poor  who  does  not  complain."  She  shook 
her  head  with  a  sad  smile  and  said  nothing. 

Our  guide  poled  us  across  the  river  in  a  rickety  boat,  and 
then  plunged  into  the  woods.  He  was  a  tall,  well  grown 
boy  of  fifteen  or  sixteen,  with  a  beautiful  oval  face,  long  fair 
hair  parted  in  the  middle  and  hanging  upon  his  shoulders, 
and  a  fine,  manly,  resolute  expression.  With  his  jacket, 
girdle,  knee-breeches,  and  the  high  crowned  and  broad  brim- 
med felt  hat  he  wore,  he  reminded  me  strongly  of  the  picture 
of  Gustavus  Vasa  in  his  Dalecarlian  disguise,  in  the  cathfr 
dral  of  Upsala.  He  was  A  splendid  walker,  and  quite  put 
me,  old  pedestrian  as  I  am,  out  of  countenance.  The  foot- 


HORTHKRN   TRAVEL 


path  we  followed  was  terribly  rough  ;  we  stumbled  ovei 
stock  and  stone,  leaped  fallen  trees,  crossed  swampg  on  tus- 
socks of  spongy  moss,  and  climbed  over  heaps  of  granit€ 
boulders  :  yet,  while  we  were  panting  and  exhausted  with 
ur  exertions  to  keep  pace  with  him,  he  walked  onward  aa 
quietly  and  easily  as  if  the  smoothest  meadow  turf  were 
under  his  feet.  I  was  quite  puzzled  by  the  speed  he  kept 
np  on  such  a  hard  path,  without  seeming  to  put  forth  any 
extra  strength.  At  sunset  he  pointed  out  some  clearings  on 
a  hill  side  over  the  tree  tops,  a  mile  or  two  ahead,  as  our 
destination.  Dusk  was  gathering  as  we  came  upon  a  pretty 
lake,  with  a  village  scattered  along  its  hilly  shore.  The 
post-station,  however,  was  beyond  it,  and  after  some  delay 
the  boy  procured  a  boat  and  rowed  us  across.  Telling  us  to 
go  up  the  hill  and  we  should  find  the  inn,  he  bade  us  good 
bye  and  set  out  on  his  return. 

We  soon  reached  a  gard,  the  owner  whereof,  after  satis- 
fying his  curiosity  concerning  us  by  numerous  questions. 
informed  us  that  the  inn  was  still  further.  After  groping 
about  in  the  dark  for  awhile,  we  found  it.  The  landlord 
and  his  wife  were  sitting  before  the  fire,  and  seemed,  1 
thought,  considerably  embarrassed  by  our  arrival  There 
was  no  bed,  they  said,  and  they  had  nothing  that  we  could 
eat  ;  their  house  was  beyond  the  lake,  and  they  only  came 
over  to  take  charge  of  the  post-station  when  their  turn  ar- 
rived. We  were  devoured  with  hunger  and  thirst,  and  told 
them  we  should  be  satisfied  with  potatoes  and  a  place  on  the 
floor.  The  wife's  brother,  who  came  in  soon  afterwards,  waa 
thereupon  despatched  across  the  lake  to  bring  coffee  for  us, 
and  the  pleasant  good-wife  put  our  potatoes  upon  the  fire  tc 


A    TRAMP    THROUGH   WERMELANt)  AND  DALECARLIA.          42 1 

ooil.  We  lit  our  pipes,  meanwhile,  and  sat  before  the  fire, 
talking  with  our  host  and  some  neighbours  who  came  in. 
They  had  much  to  ask  about  America,  none  of  them  having 
ever  before  seen  a  native  of  that  country.  Their  questions 
elated  principally  to  the  cost  of  living,  to  the  value  of 
labour,  the  price  of  grain,  the  climate  and  productions,  anJ 
the  character  of  our  laws.  They  informed  me  that  the 
usual  wages  in  Dalecarlia  were  24skillings  (13  cents)  a  day, 
and  that  one  twine  (about  480  Ibs.)  of  rye  cost  32  rigsdaler 
($8.37 1).  "  No  doubt  you  write  descriptions  of  your  travels  ?' 
asked  the  landlord.  I  assented.  "  And  then,  perhaps,  you 
make  books  of  them  ?"  he  continued  :  whereupon  one  of  the 
neighbours  asked,  '•  But  do  you  get  any  money  for  your 
books  ?" 

The  potatoes  were  finally  done,  and  they,  with  some 
delicious  milk,  constituted  our  supper.  By  this  time  thp 
brother  had  returned,  bringing  with  him  coffee,  a  pillo«v, 
and  a  large  coverlet  made  entirely  of  cat-skins.  A  deep 
bed  of  hay  was  spread  upon  the  floor,  a  coarse  linen  sheet 
thrown  over  it.  and,  with  the  soft  fur  covering,  we  had  a 
sumptuous  bed.  About  midnight  we  were  awakened  by  an 
arrival.  Two  tailors,  one  of  them  hump-backed,  on  their 
way  to  Wermeland,  came  in,  with  a  tall,  strong  woman  as 
postillion.  The  fire  was  rekindled,  and  every  thing  which 
the  landlord  had  extracted  from  us  was  repeated  to  the  new 
comers,  together  with  a  very  genial  criticism  upon  our  per- 
sonal appearance  and  character.  After  an  hour  Dr  two, 
more  hay  was  bn  ught  in  and  the  two  tailors  and  the  po8 
"illioness  lay  lown  side  by  side.  We  had  barely  got  to 

sleep  again,  when  there  was  another  arrival.     "  I  ain  the 
19 


•122  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

post -girl,"  said  a  female  voice.  Hereupon  everybody  wok« 
up,  and  the  story  of  the  two  foreign  travellers  was  told  over 
again.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation  I  learned  that  the 
girl  carried  the  post  twenty  English  miles  once  a  week,  for 
which  she  received  24  rigs  ($6.25)  annually.  "  It  is  a  hard 
business,"  said  the  hump-backed  tailor.  "Yes;  but  I  am 
obliged  to  do  it,"  answered  the  girl.  After  her  departure 
we  were  not  again  disturbed,  and  managed  to  get  some  sleep 
at  last. 

We  all  completed  our  toilettes  in  the  same  room,  without 
the  least  embarrassment ;  and,  with  a  traveller's  curiosity 
£  may  be  pardoned  for  noticing  the  general  bodily  cleanli- 
ness of  my  various  bed-fellows,  especially  as  the  city  Swedes 
are  in  the  habit  of  saying  that  the  country  people  are 
shockingly  dirty.  We  had  coffee,  and  made  arrangements 
with  the  girl  who  had  brought  the  tailors  to  take  us  back  in 
her  cart.  Our  host  would  make  no  charge  for  the  bed,  and 
next  to  nothing  for  our  fare,  so  I  put  a  bank-note  in  the 
hand  of  little  Pehr.  his  only  child,  telling  him  to  take  care 
of  it,  and  spend  it  wisely  when  he  grew  up.  The  delight 
of  the  good  people  knew  no  bounds.  Pehr  must  hold  up 
his  little  mouth  to  be  kissed,  again  and  again ;  the  mother 
shook  us  warmly  by  the  hand,  and  the  father  harnessed  his 
horse  and  started  with  us.  May  the  blessing  of  God  be 
upon  all  poor,  honest,  and  contented  people! 

Our  road  led  between  wooded  hills  to  the  Siljan-Forsa,  a 
Inrge  iron-foundry  upon  a  stream  which  flows  into  the  Siljan 
Lake.  It  was  a  lovely  morning,  and  our  postillion  who  wag 
a  woman  of  gocd  sense  and  some  intelligence,  chatted  with 
me  the  whole  way.  She  was  delighted  to  find  that  we  could 


A  TRAMP  THROUGH  WERM ELAND   AND   DALECARLIA,  423 

§0  easily  make  ourselves  understood.  "  When  I  saw  yot 
first  in  the  night,"  said  she,  "  I  though*;  you  must  certainly 
be  Swedes.  All  the  foreigners  I  saw  in  Stockholm  had 
something  dark  and  cloudy  in  their  countenances,  but  both 
of  you  have  shining  faces.'"  She  questioned  me  a  great  dea 
about  the  sacred  localities  of  Palestine,  and  about  the  statt 
of  religion  in  America.  She  evidently  belonged  to  the 
Ldsare,  who,  she  stated,  were  very  numerous  in  Dalecarlia. 
"It  is  a  shame,"  said  she,  "that  we  poor  people  are  obliged 
1,0  pay  so  much  for  the  support  of  the  Church,  whether  we 
belong  to  it  or  not  Our  taxes  amount  to  40  rigs  yearly, 
ten  of  which,  in  Mora  parish,  go  to  the  priest.  They  say  he 
has  an  income  of  half  a  rigs  every  hour  of  his  life.  King 
Oscar  wishes  to  make  religion  free,  and  so  it  ought  to  be, 
but  the  clergy  are  all  against  him,  and  the  clergy  control  the 
Bondesthnd  (House  of  Peasants),  and  so  he  can  do  nothing." 
The  woman  was  thirty-one  years  old,  and  worn  with  hard 
labour.  1  asked  her  if  she  was  married.  "No,"  she  an- 
swered, with  a  deep  sigh,  looking  at  the  betrothal-ring  on 
her  finger.  "  Ah,"  she  continued,  "  we  are  all  poor,  Sweden 
is  a  poor  country ;  we  have  only  iron  and  timber,  not  grain, 
and.  cotton,  and  silk,  and  sugar,  like  other  countries." 

As  we  descended  towards  the  post-station  of  Vik  we  caught 
tt  glimpse  of  the  Siljan  I  .ake  to  the  south,  and  the  tall 
tower  of  Mora  Church,  far  to  the  eastward.  At  Vik,  where 
we  found  the  same  simple  and  honest  race  of  people,  w 
parted  with  the  postillioness  and  with  our  host  of  Kettbo 
who  thanked  us  again  in  Pehr's  name,  as  he  shook  hands  foi 
tne  last  time.  We  now  had  fast  horses,  and  a  fine  road 
war  a  long  wooded  hill,  which  was  quite  covered  with  th< 


124  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

lingon,  or  Swedish  cranberry.  From  the  further  slope  we 
at  last  looked  down  upon  Mora,  at  the  head  of  the  Siljan 
Lake,  in  the  midst  of  a  broad  and  fertile  valley.  Ten  miles 
to  the  eastward  arose  the  spire  of  Orsa,  and  southward,  on 
n  island  in  the  lake,  the  tall  church  of  Solleron.  "  You 
can  see  three  churches  at  once,"  said  our  postillion  with 
great  pride.  So  we  could,  and  also  the  large,  stately  inn 
of  Mora — a  most  welcome  sight  to  us,  after  rive  days  on  po- 
tato diet. 


LAST  DATS  iN  THE  NORTH  425 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

LAST    DAYS    IN    THE    NORTH. 

MORA,  in  Dalecarlia,  is  classic  ground.  It  was  here  that 
Gustavus  Vasa  first  harangued  the  people,  and  kindled  thai 
spark  of  revolution,  which  in  the  end  swept  the  Danes  from 
Sweden.  In  the  cellar  of  a  house  which  was  pointed  out  to 
us,  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  Siljan  Lake,  he  lay  hidden 
three  days ;  in  the  barn  of  Ivan  Elfssen  he  threshed  corn, 
disguised  as  a  peasant ;  and  on  the  road  by  which  we  had 
travelled  from  Kettbo,  in  descending  to  the  lake,  we  had 
seen  the  mounds  of  stone,  heaped  over  the  Danes,  who  were 
slain  in  his  first  victorious  engagement.  This  district  is 
considered,  also,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  Sweden.  It 
has,  indeed,  a  quiet,  tranquil  beauty,  which  gradually  grows 
upon  the  eye,  so  that  if  one  is  not  particularly  aroused  on 
first  acquaintance,  he  at  least  carries  away  a  delightful 
picture  in  his  memory.  But  in  order  to  enjoy  properly  any 
Swedish  landscape  whatsoever,  one  should  not  be  too  fresh 
from  Norway. 

After  dinner  we  called  at  the  "  Parsonage  of  Mora,"  which 
has  given  Miss  Fredrika  Brcmer  the  materials  for  one  of 
her  stories  of  Swedish  life. 


NOKTHEKN   TRAVKt, 


The  Prost,  Herr  Kjelstroin,  was  not  at  home,  but  hia 
wife  received  us  with  great  cordiality,  and  insisted  upon  oui 
remaining  to  tea.  The  magister  -  ,  who  called  at  the 
game  time,  gave  us  some  information  concerning  the  por- 
phyry quarries  at  Elfdal,  which  we  were  debating  whether 
we  should  visit.  Very  little  is  doing  at  present,  not  more 
Mian  ten  men  in  all  being  employed,  and  in  his  opinion  we 
would  hardly  be  repaid  for  the  journey  thither  ;  so  we  deter 
mined  to  turn  south  ward  again,  and  gradually  make  our  way 
to  Stockholm.  Fru  Kjelstrdm  was  one  of  the  few  Swedes  I 
met,  who  was  really  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Tegner;  she 
knew  by  heart  the  greater  part  of  his  "  Frithiof  s  Saga." 

The  morning  after  our  arrival  in  Mora  dawned  dark  and 
cloudy,  with  a  wailing  wind  and  dashes  of  rain.  There 
were  threats  of  the  equinoctial  storm,  and  we  remembered 
the  prediction  of  the  lumber  merchants  in  Carlstad.  During 
the  night,  however,  a  little  steamer  belonging  to  an  iron 
company  arrived,  offering  us  the  chance  of  a  passage  down 
the  lake  to  Leksand.  While  we  were  waiting  on  the  shore 
the  magister,  whc  had  come  to  see  us  depart,  gave  me  some 
information  about  the  Lfisare.  He  admitted  that  there  were 
many  in  Dalecarlia,  and  said  that  the  policy  of  persecution, 
which  was  practised  against  them  in  the  beginning,  was  now 
dropped.  They  were,  in  general,  ignored  by  the  clerical 
authorities.  He  looked  upon  the  movement  rather  as  a 
transient  hallucination  than  as  a  permanent  secession  from 
the  Established  Church,  and  seemed  to  think  that  it  wouid 
gradually  disappear,  if  left  to  itself.  He  admitted  that  th« 
king  was  in  favour  of  religious  liberty,  but  was  so  guarded 


LAST   DAYS    IN   THE   NORTH  42? 

in  Breaking  of  the  subject  that  I  did  not  ascertain  his  OWE 
views. 

We  had  on  board  about  sixty  passengers,  mostly  peasante 
from  Upper  Elfdel,  bound  on  a  peddling  excursion  through 
Sweden,  with  packs  of  articles  which  they  manufacture  at 
home.  Their  stock  consisted  mostly  of  pocket-books,  purses, 
boxes,  and  various  small  articles  of  ornament  and  use.  The 
little  steamer  was  so  well  laden  with  their  solid  forms  that 
ghe  settled  into  the  nud,  and  the  crew  had  hard  poling  to 
get  her  off.  There  was  service  in  Mora  Church,  and  the 
3ound  of  the  organ  and  choir  was  heard  along  the  lake. 
Many  friends  and  relatives  of  the  wandering  Elfdalians 
were  on  the  little  wooden  pier  to  bid  them  adieu.  "  God's 
peace  be  with  thee!"  was  a  parting  salutation  which  I  heard 
many  times  repeated.  At  last  we  got  fairly  clear  and  pad- 
dled off  through  the  sepia- coloured  water,  watching  the 
softly  undulating  shores,  which  soon  sank  low  enough  to 
show  the  blue,  irregular  hills  in  the  distant  background. 

a  o 

Mora  spire  was  the  central  point  in  the  landscape,  and  re 
mained  visible  until  we  had  nearly  reached  the  other  end  of 
the  lake.  The  Siljan  has  a  length  of  about  twenty-five 
miles,  with  a  breadth  of  from  six  to  ten.  The  shores  are 
hilly,  but  only  moderately  high,  except  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Rattvik,  where  they  were  bold  and  beautiful.  The  soft 
slopes  on  either  hand  were  covered  with  the  yellow  pillars 
of  the  ripe  oat?,  bound  to  upright  stakes  to  dry.  From 
every  village  rose  a  tall  midsummer  pole,  yet  laden  with  the 
withered  garlands  of  Sweden's  fairest  festival,  and  bearing: 
aloft  its  patriotic  symbol,  the  crossed  arrows  of  Dalecarlia 
The  threatened  storm  broke  and  dispersed  as  we  left  Mora, 


428  NORTHERN   TRAVEL. 

and  strong  sun-bursts  between   the  clouds  flashed    across 
these  pastoral  pictures. 

Soon  after  we  left,  a  number  of  the  men  and  women  col 
lected  together  on  the  after -deck,  and  commenced  singing 
hymns,  which  occupation  they  kept  up  with  untiring  fervour 
during  the  whole  voyage.  The  young  girls  were  remark- 
able for  weight  and  solidity  of  figure,  ugliness  of  face,  and 
sweetness  of  voice.  The  clear,  ringing  tones,  with  a  bell- 
like  purity  and  delicious  timbre,  issued  without  effort  from 
between  their  thick,  beefy  lips,  and  there  was  such  a  con- 
trast between  sound  and  substance,  that  they  attracted  my 
attention  more  than  I  should  have  thought  possible.  Some 
of  the  men,  who  had  heard  what  we  were,  entered  into  con- 
versation with  us.  I  soon  discovered  that  they  were  all 
Lasare,  and  one  of  them,  who  seemed  to  exercise  a  kind  of 
leadership,  and  who  was  a  man  of  considerable  intelligence, 
gave  me  a  good  deal  of  information  about  the  sect.  They 
met  together  privately,  he  said,  to  read  the  New  Testament, 
trusting  entirely  to  its  inspired  pages  for  the  means  of  en- 
lightenment as  to  what  was  necessary  for  the  salvation  of 
their  souls.  The  clergy  stood  between  them  and  the  Voice 
of  God,  who  had  spoken  not  to  a  particular  class,  but  to  all 
mankind.  They  were  liable  to  a  fine  of  200  riys  (352) 
every  time  they  thus  met  together,  my  informant  had  once  been 
obliged  to  pay  it  himself.  Nevertheless,  he  said  they  were 
not  interfered  with  so  muc1!  at  present,  except  that  they  were 
obliged  to  pay  tithes,  as  before.  "The  king  is  a  good 
man,"  he  continued,  "  he  means  well,  and  would  do  us  jus- 
tice if  he  had  the  power  ;  but  the  clergy  are  all  against 
him,  and  his  own  authority  is  limited.  Now  they  arf 


LAST  DAIS  IN  THE  NORTH. 

going  to  bring  the  question  of  religious  freedom  before  th< 
Diet,  but  we  have  not  the  least  hope  that  anything  will  bt 
done."  He  also  stated — what,  indeed,  must  be  evident  to 
every  observing  traveller — that  the  doctrines  of  the  L&sare 
had  spread  very  rapidly,  and  that  their  numbers  were  con 
frinually  increasing. 

The  creation  of  such  a  powerful  dissenting  body  is  a 
thing  that  might  have  been  expected.  The  Church,  in 
Sweden,  had  become  a  system  of  forms  and  ceremonies. 
The  pure  spiritualism  of  Swedenborg.  in  the  last  century, 
was  a  natural  and  gigantic  rebound  to  the  opposite  extreme, 
but,  from  its  lofty  intellectuality,  was  unfitted  to  be  the 
nucleus  of  a  popular  protest.  Meanwhile,  the  souls  of  the 
people  starved  on  the  dry  husks  which  were  portioned  out 
to  them.  They  needed  genuine  nourishment.  They  are 
an  earnest,  reflective  race,  and  the  religious  element  is  deeply 
implanted  in  their  nature.  The  present  movement,  so  much 
like  Methodism  in  many  particulars,  owes  its  success  to  the 
same  genial  and  all-embracing  doctrine  of  an  impartial  visi- 
tation of  Divine  grace,  bringing  mai.  into  nearer  and  tenderer 
relations  to  his  Maker.  In  a  word,  it  is  the  democratic, 
opposed  to  the  aristocratic  principle  in  religion.  It  is  fash- 
ionable in  Sweden  to  sneer  at  the  L&sare;  their  numbers, 
character,  and  sincerity  are  very  generally  under-estimated. 
No  doubt  there  is  much  that  is  absurd  and  grotesque  in  their 
services;  no  doubt  they  run  into  violent  and  unchristian  ex- 
tremes, and  often  merely  substitute  fanaticism  for  spiritual 
apathy  ;  but  I  believe  they  will  in  <?he  end  be  the  instrument 
>f  bestowing  religious  liberty  upon  Sweden. 

There  was  no  end  to  the  desire  of  th  *se  people  for  know- 
19* 


430  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

ledge.  They  overwhelmed  us  with  questions  about  on. 
country,  its  government,  laws,  climate,  productions  and 
geographical  extent.  Next  to  America,  they  seemed  most 
nterested  in  Palestine,  and  considered  me  as  specially 
favoured  by  Providence  in  having  beheld  Jerusalem.  They 
all  complained  of  the  burdens  which  fall  upon  a  poor  man 
in  Sweden,  in  the  shape  of  government  taxes,  tithes,  and 
the  obligation  of  supporting  a  portion  of  the  army,  who  are 
distributed  through  the  provinces.  Thus  Dalecarlia,  they 
informed  me,  with  a  population  of  132,000,  is  obliged  to 
maintiin  1200  troops  The  tax  on  land  corresponded  very 
nearly  with  the  statement  made  by  my  female  postillion  the 
previous  day.  Dalecarlia,  its  mines  excepted,  is  one  of  the 
poorest  of  the  Swedish  provinces.  Many  of  its  inhabitants 
are  obliged  to  wander  forth  every  summer,  either  to  take 
service  elsewhere,  or  to  dispose  of  the  articles  they  fabricate 
at  home,  in  order,  after  some  years  of  this  irregular  life,  to 
possess  enough  to  enable  them  to  pass  the  rest  of  their  days 
humbly  at  home.  Our  fellow-passengers  told  me  of  several 
who  had  emigrated  to  America,  where  they  had  spent  five 
or  six  years.  They  grew  home-sick  at  last,  and  returned  to 
their  chilly  hills.  But  it  was  not  the  bleak  fir-woods,  the 
oat-fields,  or  the  wooden  huts  which  they  missed  ;  it  was 
the  truth,  the  honesty,  the  manliness,  and  the  loving  tender- 
Dess  which  dw^ll  in  Dalecarlian  hearts. 

We  had  a  strong  wind  abeam,  but  our  little  steamer  madi 
good  progress  down  the  lake.  The  shores  contracted,  and 
the  white  church  of  1  ,eksand  rose  over  the  dark  woods,  and 
between  two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  were  moor- 
ed in  the  Dal  River,  where  it  issues  from  the  Sijan.  Thf 


DAYS   IN   THE   NORTh. 


Klfdal  pedlers  shouldered  their  immense  packs  ai»u  _et  out 
bidding  us  a  friendly  adieu  as  we  parted.  After  establisn- 
ing  ourselves  in  the  little  inn,  where  we  procured  it  tolerable 
dinner,  we  called  upon  the  Domprost  Hvasser,  to  whom  1 
had  a  letter  from  a  countryman  who  made  a  pedestrian 
journey  through  Dalecarlia  live  years  ago.  The  parsonage 
was  a  spacious  building  near  the  church,  standing  upon  the 
brink  of  a  lofty  bank  overlooking  the  outflow  of  the  DaL 
The  Domprost,  a  hale,  stout  old  man,  with  something  irre- 
sistibly hearty  and  cheering  in  his  manner,  gave  us  both  hia 
hands  and  drew  us  into  the  room,  on  seeing  that  we  were 
strangers.  He  then  proceeded  to  read  the  letter.  "  Ho  !" 
he  exclaimed,  "to  think  .that  he  has  remembered  me  all  this 
time  !  And  he  has  not  forgotten  that  it  was  just  midsummer 
when  he  was  here  !*'  Presently  he  went  out,  and  soon  re- 
turned with  a  basket  in  one  hand  and  some  plates  in  the 
other,  which  he  placed  before  us  and  heaped  with  fine  ripe 
cherries.  "  Now  it  is  autumn,''  said  he  ;  "  it  is  no  longer 
midsummer,  but  we  have  a  little  of  the  summer's  fruit  left" 
He  presented  us  to  his  sister  and  daughter,  and  to  two 
handsome  young  magisters,  who  assisted  him  in  his  par- 
ochial duties. 

We  walked  in  the  garden,  which  was  laid  out  with  some 
taste  along  the  brow  of  the  hill.  A  superb  drooping  birch, 
eighty  feet  in  height,  was  the  crowning  glory  of  the  place. 
The  birch  is  the  characteristic  tree  of  Sweden,  as  the  fir  is 
of  Norway,  the  beech  of  Denmark,  the  oak  of  England  and 
Germany,  the  chestnut  of  Italy,  and  the  palm  of  Esrypt 
Of  nothern  trees,  there  is  none  more  graceful  in  outline,  but 
in  tbe  cold,  silvery  hue  of  ito  foliage,  summer  can  never  find 


SOUTHERN   TRAVEL 


her  best  expression.  The  parson  had  a  neat  little  bowling 
alley,  in  a  grove  of  pine,  on  a  projecting  spur  of  the  hill. 
He  did  not  disdain  secular  recreations;  his  religion  was 
cheerful  and  jubilant  ;  he  had  found  something  else  in  the 
Bible  than  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah.  There  are  so 
many  Christians  who  —  to  judge  from  the  settled  expression 
of  their  faces  —  suffer  under  their  belief,  that  it  is  a  com- 
fort  to  find  those  who  see  nothing  heretical  in  the  fullest 
and  freest  enjoyment  of  life.  There  was  an  apple-tree  in 
the  garden  which  was  just  bursting  into  blossoms  for  the 
second  time.  I  called  the  Domprost's  attention  to  it,  re- 
marking, in  a  line  from  Frithiof's  Saga:  —  "  Hdsten  bjuder 
sin  thron  til  varen"  (Autumn  offers  his  throrie  to  the  spring). 
"  What  !"  he  exclaimed  in  joyful  surprise,  "  do  you  know 
Tegner  ?"  and  immediately  continued  the  quotation. 

There  was  no  resisting  the  hospitable  persuasions  of  th' 
family  ;  we  were  obliged  to  take  supper  and  spend  the  even- 
ing with  them.  The  daughter  and  the  two  magisters  sang 
for  us  all  the  characteristic  songs  cf  Wermeland  and  Dale- 
carlia  which  they  could  remember,  and  I  was  more  than  ever 
charmed  with  the  wild,  simple,  original  character  of  th< 
native  melodies  of  Sweden.  They  are  mostly  in  the  minor 
key,  and  some  of  them  might  almost  be  called  monotonous 
vet  it  is  monotony,  or  rather  simplicity,  in  the  notation, 
which  sticks  to  the  memory.  The  longings,  the  regrets,  the 
fidelity,  and  the  tenderness  of  the  people,  find  an  echo  in 
these  airs,  which  have  all  the  character  of  improvisations, 
and  rekindle  in  the  heart  of  the  hearer  the  passions  they 
were  intended  to  relieve. 

We  at  laat  took  leave  of  the  good  old  man  and  his  friendlj 


r,AS1    DAYS   fN   THE   NORTH.  433 

household.  The  night  was  dark  and  rainy,  and  t.ie  ma- 
gisters  accompanied  us  to  the  inn.  In  the  mornii  g  it  was1 
raining  dismally, — a  slow,  cold,  driving  rain,  which  is  th* 
c'unax  of  bad  weather.  We  determined,  however,  to  pusl» 
onward  as  far  as  Fahlun,  the  capital  of  Dalecarlia,  about 
four  Swedish  miles  distant.  Our  read  was  down  the  valley 
of  the  Dal  Elv,  which  we  crossed  twice  on  floating  bridges, 
through  a  very  rich,  beautiful,  and  thickly  settled  country 
The  hills  were  here  higher  and  bolder  than  in  W<  sterdal, 
dark  with  forests  of  fir  and  pine,  and  swept  south-eastward 
in  long  ranges,  leaving  a  broad,  open  valley  for  the  river  to 
wander  in.  This  valley,  from  three  to  five  miles  in  width, 
was  almost  entirely  covered  with  enclosed  fields,  owing  tv 
which  the  road  was  barred  with  gates,  and  our  progress  was 
much  delayed  thereby.  The  houses  were  neat  and  substan- 
tial, many  of  them  with  gardens  and  orchards  attached, 
while  the  unusual  timber  o*  the  barns  and  granaries  gave 
evidence  of  a  more  prosperous  state  of  agriculture  than  we 
had  seen  since  leaving  the  neighborhood  of  Carlstad.  We 
pressed  forward  in  the  rain  and  raw  wind,  and  reached  Fah- 
Ir.n  towards  evening,  just  in  time  to  avoid  a  drenching 
storm. 

Of  the  celebrated  copper-mines  of  Fahlun,  some  of  which 
have  been  worked  for  600  years,  we  saw  nothing.  We  took 
their  magnitude  and  richness  for  granted,  on  the  strength  of 
the  immense  heaps  of  dross  through  which  we  drove  on  ap- 
proaching the  town,  and  the  desolate  appearance  of  the  sur- 
rounding country,  whose  ve«i'etution  lias  been  for  the  most 
part  destroyed  by  the  fumes  from  the  smelting  works.  In 
our  sore  and  sodden  condition  we  were  in  no  humour  to  go 


334  NORTHERN  TRAVEL. 

sight  seeing,  and  so  sat  comfortably  by  the  stove,  while  tht 
rain  beat  against  the  windows,  and  the  darkness  fell.  Thf 
next  morning  brought  us  a  renewal  of  the  same  weather  but 
we  set  out  bravely  in  our  open  cart,  and  jolted  over  the 
nuddy  roads  with  such  perseverance,  that  we  reached  Hide- 
mora  at  night.  The  hills  diminished  in  height  as  we  pro 
jocded  southward,  but  the  scenery  retained  its  lovely  pastoral 
character.  My  most  prominent  recollection  of  the  day's 
travel,  however,  is  of  the  number  of  gates  our  numb  and 
blue-faced  boy-postillions  were  obliged  to  jump  down  and 
open. 

From  Hedemora,  a  journey  of  two  days  through  the  pro- 
vinces of  Westeras  and  Uppland,  brought  us  to  Upsal«t. 
After  leaving  Dalecarlia  and  crossing  the  Dal  River  for  the 
fifth  and  last  time,  the  country  gradually  sank  into  those 
long,  slightly  rolling  plains,  which  we  had  traversed  last 
winter,  between  Stockholm  and  Gefle.  Here  villages  were 
more  frequent,  but  the  houses  had  not  the  same  air  of  thrift 
and  comfort  as  in  Dalecarlia.  The  population  also  changed 
in  character,  the  faces  we  now  saw  being  less  bright,  cheer- 
ful, and  kindly,  and  the  forms  less  tall  and  strongly  knit. 

We  had  very  fair  accommodations,  at  all  the  post-stations 
along  the  road,  and  found  tLt  people  everywhere  honest  and 
obliging.  Still,  I  missed  the  noble  simplicity  which  I  had 
admired  so  much  in  the  natives  of  Westerdal,  and  on  the 
frontier  of  Wenpeland, — the  unaffected  kindness  of  heart 
which  made  me  look  upon  every  man  as  a  friend. 

The  large  town  of  Sala,  where  we  spent  a  night,  was 
filled  with  fugitives  from  Upsala,  where  the  cholera  wai 
making  great  ravages.  The  violence  of  the  disease  war 


LAST  DAYS   IN  THE  NORTH.  485 

over  by  the  time  we  arrived  ;  but  the  students,  all  of  whom 
had  left,  had  not  yet  returned,  and  the  fine  old  place  had  a 
melancholy  air.  The  first  thing  we  saw  on  approaching  it, 
was  a  funeral.  Professor  Bergfalk,  who  had  remained  at 
his  post,  and  to  whom  I  had  letters,  most  kindly  gave  me  an 
entire  day  of  his  time.  I  saw  the  famous  Codex  argenteits 
.n  the  library,  the  original  manuscript  of  Frithiof's  Saga 
the  journals  of  Swedenborg  and  Linnsous,  the  Botanical  Gar- 
den, and  the  tombs  of  Gustavus  Vasa  and  John  III.  in  the 
catnedral.  But  most  interesting  of  all  was  our  drive  to 
Old  Upsala.  where  we  climbed  upon  the  mound  of  Odin 
and  drank  mead  out  of  the  silver-mounted  drinking  horn 
from  which  Bernadotte,  Oscar,  and  the  whole  royal  family 
of  Sweden,  are  in  the  habit  of  drinking  when  they  make  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  burial  place  of  the  Scandinavian  goda. 

A  cold,  pale,  yellow  light  lay  upon  the  landscape;  the 
towers  of  Upsala  Cathedral,  and  the  massive  front  of  the 
palace,  rose  dark  against  the  sky.  in  the  south-west ;  a  chill 
autumnal  wind  blew  over  the  plains  and  the  yellowing  foliage 
of  the  birch  drifted  across  the  mysterious  mounds,  like  those 
few  golden  leaves  of  poetry,  which  the  modern  bards  of  the 
North  have  cast  upon  the  grave  of  the  grand,  muscular  re- 
liirion  of  the  earlier  race.  There  was  no  melodious  wailing 
in  tlit>  wind,  like  that  which  proclaimed  "Pan  is  dead  !" 
throuirh  the  groves  of  Greece  and  Ionia;  but  a  cold  rust- 
ling hi.-s,  as  if  the  serpent  of  Midgard  were  exulting  over 
the  ruins  of  Walhalla.  But  in  the  stinginjr,  aromatic  flood 
of  the  amber-coloured  mead,  I  drank  to  Odin,  to  Balder, 
and  to  Freja. 


436  NORTHERN  TRAVB. 

Vf  e  reached  Stockholm  on  the  22nd  of  September,  in  th* 
midst  of  a  furious  gale,  accompanied  with  heavy  squalls  of 
mow — the  same  in  which  the  Russian  line-of-battle  ship 
*  Ltfnrt"  foundered  in  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  In  the  mild 
rsalrn.  sunny,  autumn  days  which  followed,  the  biautiful  city 
charmed  us  more  than  ever,  and  I  felt  half  inclined  to  take 
tack  all  I  had  said  against  the  place,  during  the  dismal 
weather  of  last  spring.  The  trees  in  the  Djurgard  and  in 
the  islands  of  Mftlar,  were  still  in  full  foliage;  the  Dalecar- 
lian  boatwomen  plied  their  crafts  in  the  outer  harbour;  the 
little  garden  under  the  Norrbro  was  gay  with  music  and 
lamps  every  evening  ;  and  the  brief  and  jovial  summer  life 
of  the  Swedes,  so  near  its  close,  clung  to  the  flying  sunshine, 
that  not  a  moment  might  be  suffered  to  pass  by  unenjoyed. 

In  another  week  we  were  standing  on  the  deck  of  the  Prus- 
sian steamer  "  Nagler,"  threading  the  rocky  archipelago  be- 
tween Stockholm  and  the  open  Baltic  on  our  way  to  Stettin 
In  leaving  the  North,  after  ten  months  of  winter  and  sum- 
mer wanderings,  and  with  scarce  a  hope  of  returning  again, 
I  found  myself  repeating,  over  and  over  again,  the  farewdJ 
of  Frithiof  :— 

"  FanSt,  JJjSUar, 

Der  Sran  bar ; 
J  runoh&Uar, 

FSrv&ldig  Tkor ; 
J  blaa  sjdar, 

Jag  kdnt  sa  v&l ; 
J  skar  och  Oar, 

Frnnal,farrAl!n 


TRAVELS 


IN 


GREECE   AND    RUSSIA 


WITH    AN    EXCURSION    TO     CRETE 


BY 
BAYARD   TAYLOR 


AUTHOR'S  REVISED  EDITION 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1889,  by 
BAYARD  TAYLOR. 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PKEF  ACE. 


THE  reader  will  observe  that  in  describing  Greece,  1 
have  devoted  myself  to  the  physical  aspects  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  character  and  habits  of  its  present  popula- 
tion, rather  than  to  its  past  history  and  classic  associa- 
tions. If,  therefore,  there  are  no  new  pictures  in  this 
volume,  there  may  be,  at  least,  some  old  and  familial 
subjects  exhibited  under  new  atmospheric  effects.  I 
should  otherwise  have  hesitated  to  select  a  field  which 
may  be  considered  well-nigh  exhausted,  were  it  not  that 
the  country  is  still  in  a  transition  state,  and  every  few 
years  presents  a  new  phase  to  the  traveller's  eye. 

Owing  to  the  pressure  of  other  literary  labors,  this 
volume  has  been  too  rapidly  prepared  for  the  press,  to 
allow  me  to  add  a  special  chapter  on  the  Ethnology  of 
Greece,  as  I  had  originally  designed.  I  can  only  record 
my  complete  conviction  of  the  truth  of  the  views  enter- 
tained by  Fallmereyer,  that  the  modern  Greeks  are  a 


IV  PREFACE. 

mongrel  race,  in  which  the  Slavic  element  is  predomi- 
nant, and  that  the  pure  Hellenic  blood  is  to  be  found 
only  in  a  few  localities. 

The  chapters  relating  to  Russia  must  be  considered  as 
studies  rather  than  finished  pictures.  They  are  an  at- 
tempt to  sketch  the  gay,  bizarre,  incongruous  external 
forms  of  Russian  life.  Anything  more  could  not  be  safely 
attempted  without  a  longer  residence  in  the  country  and 
a  knowledge  of  the  language — both  of  which  I  hope  to 
accomplish  at  some  future  day.  So  far,  however,  as  the 
Greek  Church  is  concerned,  it  may  be  interesting  to  the 
reader  to  trace  its  character  and  influence  in  the  tw«* 
countries,  which,  with  a  common  ambition,  are  far  from 
having  a  common  destiny. 

BAYARD  TAYLOK 

NBW  YORK,  July,  1869 


CONTEN  TS 


CHAPTER  L 
Pictures  from  the  Dalmatian  Coast,          ....  > 

CHAPTER  IL 
Further  from  Dalmatia, • 

CHAPTER  IIL 
First  Days  in  Greece,      .  ,  W 

CHAPTER  IV. 
On  the  Acropolis, 84 

CHAPTER  V. 
Winter  Life  in  Athens, « 

CHAPTER  VL 
A  Greek  Baptism, .64 

CHAPTER  VIL 
ue  Court  of  King  Otho, ft 

CHAPTER  Vm. 
Greek  Festivals,  Religious  and  Civic,  .     .  .        .  .       7b 

CHAPTER  IX. 
An  Excursion  to  Crete, 8i 

CHAPTER  X. 
A,  Cretan  Journey, 101 


fl  CONTENTS. 

MM 

CHAPTER  XI 

Oar  Imprisonment  at  Rhithynmos,  .  .  .         .     1L2 

CHAPTER  XU. 
The  Caverns,  Mountains,  and  Labyrinths  of  Crr-ie.  .        .        .123 

CHAPTER  XI 11 
Two  Days  with  an  Archbishop,  ....     137 

CHAPTER  XIV 
The  Earthquake  at  Corinth,     .  148 

CHAPTER  SV 
Argolis  and  Arcadia,     .  .        ,       161 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Four  Days  among  the  Spartans,       ....  .  ICC 

CHAPTER  XV  U 
Measenia,  Elis,  and  Achaia,     ........     186 

CHAPTER  XVUL 
Byron  in  Greece, 203 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Fhe  Haunts  of  the  Muses, 216 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Parnassus  and  the  Dorian  Mountains, 226 

CHAPTER  XXL 
Hie  Frontier  of  Thessaly, 287 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Adventures  in  Euboea, .        .     24? 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
People  and  Government,         .......  261 

CHAPTER  XXTV 
Agriculture  and  Resources,     ........     278 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Return  to  the  North.     .....  281 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Cracow,  and  the  Salt  Mines  of  Wieliczka,         .  .989 

CHA  PTER  XXVU. 
A.  Glance  at  Warsaw, •    BOB 


CONTENTS.  V*ri 

PAOI 

CHAPTER  XXVm. 
A  Journey  through  Central  Russia,          .....  316 

CHAPTER  yyry. 

A  Panoramic  V'ew  of  Moscow, .    825 

CHAPTER  mr 
Ine  Kremlin, .    334 

CHAPTER  TTTT, 
A  Visit  to  the  Foundling  Hospital, 348 

CHAPTER  XXXTT. 
Moscow,  In-doors  and  Out, 859 

CHAPTER  TXTTTT, 
Railroads  in  Russia, ,        .  37 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
St.  Petersburg  and  its  Palaces, ' ,    881 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
Tzarsko  Selo,  Paulovsk  and  the  Islands,  ,  ,     894 

CHAPTER  XXXVL 
Varieties  of  the  Russian  Capital,      ....  401 

CHAPTER  XXXVIL 
Journey  through  the  Baltic  Proyinoet,  ,  111 


TE1YELS  IN  GREECE  AND  RUSSIA. 


i. 

GREECE. 
CHAPTER  I. 

PICTURES    FROM    THK    DALMATIAN    COAST. 

AFTER  giving  up  the  hope  of  enjoying  a  Siberian  Winter, 
which  had  been  my  original  intention,  I  determined  to  go 
as  near  as  possible  to  the  opposite  extreme  of  avoiding  the 
Winter  altogether.  But  by  the  time  we  left  Gotha  (on  the 
4th  of  December,  1857)  the  season  was  already  inaugurated. 
The  first  snow  whitened  the  Thuringian  hills ;  bitter  blasts 
blew  down  upon  us  from  the  Hartz — the  last  chilly  farewell 
of  the  forsaken  North.  Like  a  true  German,  he  was  not 
satisfied  with  one  adieu,  but  must  return  again  and  again  to 
prolong  the  sweet  sorrow  of  parting.  He  accompanied  u<j 
to  Dresden,  through  the  black  and  lowering  passes  of  the 
Saxon  Switzerland,  over  the  open  plains  of  Bohemia,  and 
only  left  us  for  a  while  in  the  valley  of  the  Danube  to  return 
with  a  more  violent  embrace,  on  the  top  of  the  Semmering 


TRAVELS   IN   GREECE  AND   BUSSIA. 

Alp.  Finally,  at  the  southern  edge  of  the  Karst,  01 
table-land  of  Carinthia,  where  his  rugged  name  of  Boreas  is 
Italianized  into  the  Bora,  we  left  him,  and  the  little  olive- 
trees  in  the  gardens  of  Trieste  welcomed  us  to  the  threshold 
of  the  South. 

At  Trieste,  I  determined  to  make  the  most  of  my  south- 
ward voyage,  by  taking  the  Lloyd  steamer  of  the  Dalmatian 
and  Albanian  line,  which  would  enable  me  to  see  something 
of  one  of  the  least  frequented  and  most  interesting  of  the 
Mediterranean  shores.  At  noon,  on  the  12th,  we  were  all 
three  on  board  of  the  Miramar,  Captain  Mazarevitch, 
steaming  out  of  Trieste  under  a  cloudless  sky  and  over 
a  smooth  blue  sea,  albeit  the  south-eastern  wind,  blowing 
over  the  Istrian  mountains,  was  keen  enough.  Our  vessel, 
although  new,  clean,  and  sufficiently  comfortable,  was  pain- 
fully slow,  and  consequently  we  were  not  up  with  Pola,  the 
famous  amphitheatre  whereof  is  plainly  visible  from  the  sea, 
until  long  after  dark.  Our  comfort  during  the  afternoon 
was  our  fine  view  of  the  Julian  Alps,  wheeling  hi  a  splendid 
arc  areund  the  head  of  the  Adriatic,  from  Trieste  nearly  to 
Venice.  During  the  night  we  crossed  the  mouth  of  the 
Gulf  of  Fiume,  which  you  may  remember  as  the  only  outlet 
of  Croatia,  much  talked  of  during  the  Hungari  in  struggle, 
in  connexion  with  the  design  of  uniting  the  Slavic  races 
with  the  Magyars,  and  securing  a  seaport  for  the  new 
nation.  I  cheerfully  testify  that  the  Gulf  of  Fiume  is  as 
rough  a  piece  of  water  as  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  this  is  all 
I  know  about  it,  for  by  sunrise  we  were  at  anchor  in  the 
harbor  of  Zara,  the  capital  of  Dahnatia. 

Most  gentlemen  have  heard  of  this  place,  from  reading 


PICTUBES    1  KOM    THE   DALMATIAN    COAST.  3 

on  (he  labels  of  certain  square,  wicker-encased  bottles — 
"Maraschino  di  Zam."  Those  who  have  dipped  into  his- 
tory far  enough  will  remember  the  famous  sea-fight  fought 
here  during  the  Fourth  Crusade,  and  the  happy  few  who  know 
Venice  have  not  forgotten  the  famous  picture  in  the  Doge's 
Palace,  wherein  the  sou  of  Barbarossa  is  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Venetians,  the  most  flagrant  case  of  lying  which  the 
world  can  produce — no  such  incident  ever  having  occurred. 
Zara,  I  suspect,  looks  pretty  much  as  it  did  in  those  days. 
Its  long,  crenelated  walls  and  square  bastions  had  a  familiar 
aspect  to  me,  from  the  aforesaid  picture.  Of  its  ancient 
history  I  need  only  say  that  it  was  the  capital  of  the  Roman 
province  of  Liburnia,  and  a  place  of  some  note  in  the  days 
of  Augustus. 

The  sun  rose  over  the  snowy  range  of  the  Velebich, 
which  separates  Dalmatia  from  the  Turkish  pashalik  of 
Bosnia.  The  land,  under  the  clearest  illumination,  looked 
intensely  bare  and  stony.  Around  the  harbor  were  olive 
orchards,  with  a  spiry  Italian  cypress  or  two,  and  some 
leafless  fig-trees.  Dalmatian  boatmen  thronged  the  low 
quay,  in  front  of  the  water  gate,  and  hovered  about  the 
steamer,  in  their  red  caps,  loose  shirts  and  wide  trowsers. 
The  picture  was  neither  Italian  nor  Oriental,  yet  with 
something  of  both,  and  there  was  enough  of  Frank  innova- 
tion to  give  it  a  shabby  air.  I  know  nothing  more  slovenly 
and  melancholy  than  the  aspect  of  those  Mediterranean 
ports  which  are  in  a  transition  state — where  the  old  costume, 
habits,  and  ways  of  living  have  been  for  the  most  part 
given  up,  and  those  of  Western  Europe  are  still  new 
enough  to  appear  awkward  and  affected.  The  interior  of 


4  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

the  town  produced  the  same  impression ;  there  was  every 
where  the  same  curious  mixture  of  two  heterogeneous  eU> 
ments.  Only  the  country  people,  who  had  come  in  with 
their  market-carts  and  were  selling  vegetables  in  the  prin- 
cipal square,  and  some  shaggy  fellows,  whom  I  took  to  be 
Morlaks,  or  Mountain  Slaves,  seemed  to  be  purely  Dalma- 
tian, both  in  blood  and  habits.  Their  Slavic  ancestry  was 
to  be  seen  at  a  glance.  The  deep-set  eye,  the  heavy  brow, 
the  strong  nose,  and  lengthened  oval  of  the  face — the 
expression  of  courage,  calculation,  and  obstinacy — the  erect, 
rather  haughty  form,  and  free,  graceful  carriage,  are  charac- 
teristics which  belong  to  all  the  branches  of  this  widely 
spread  race.  Some  of  the  old  men  were  noble  figures; 
but  the  men,  as  elsewhere  among  the  Slaves,  were  much 
handsomer  than  the  women. 

Zara  is  a  little  place,  and  one  can  easily  see  the  whole  of 
•t  in  an  hour.  The  streets  are  very  narrow  and  crooked, 
out  paved  with  heavy  stone  slabs,  and  kept  perfectly  clean. 
At  one  corner  of  the  public  square,  stands  a  Corinthian  pil- 
lar surmounted  by  a  winged  griffin,  which  is  believed  to 
have  belonged  to  a  temple  of  the  age  of  Augustus.  The 
Cathedral,  a  low  building  of  marble,  Byzantine  in  style, 
was  founded  by  old  Dandolo,  who  wintered  here  in  1202,  on 
his  way  to  take  Constantinople.  We  went  into  a  cafe  to 
taste  Maraschino  on  its  native  soil,  but  the  specimen  proved 
that  the  flavor  of  the  liqueur  is  improved  by  banishment. 
[t  is  made  from  the  berries  of  a  variety  of  wild  cherry, 
railed  the  marasca,  whence  the  name. 

We  left  at  noon,  and  running  along  a  coast  which 
appeared  barren,  although  every  valley  which  opened  to 


PICTUBES   FROM   THE   DALMATIAN   COAST.  5 

the  sea  was  silver-gray  with  olive  orchards,  reached  Sebe- 
nico  a  little  before  sunset.  This  is  a  wonderfully  pictures 
que  place,  built  along  the  side  of  a  hill  which  rises 
steeply  from  the  water,  and  dominated  by  three  massive 
Venetian  fortresses,  behind  which  towers  a  bald,  barren 
mountain.  Our  steamer  was  hauled  in  beside  a  mole  which 
protects  the  little  harbor,  and  we  stepped  ashore  to  see  the 
place  before  dark.  Crowds  of  grizzly,  dirty  men,  dressed 
in  wide  trowsers  and  shaggy  sheepskin  jackets,  stared  at  us 
with  curiosity.  A  few  of  them  begged  in  unintelligible 
Ulyrian  or  bad  Italian.  The  women,  some  of  whom  were 
quite  pretty,  wore  a  very  picturesque  costume,  consisting 
of  a  crimson  boddice,  open  to  the  waist  in  front,  disclosing 
a  snowy  linen  chemise,  in  which  the  full  breast  was  enve- 
loped, a  petticoat  of  red  or  dark  blue,  and  a  gay  handker- 
chief twisted  through  the  long  braids  of  their  thick  black 
hair. 

The  streets  were  so  very  narrow,  steep,  and  dark,  thai 
we  hesitated  at  first  about  plunging  into  such  a  suspicious 
labyrinth,  but  at  last  bit  upon  a  lane  which  led  us  to  the 
public  square  before  the  Cathedral,  the  only  level  piece  of 
ground  in  the  city.  It  is  an  artificial  terrace,  about  half- 
vay  up  the  hill,  and  may  be  a  hundred  feet  square.  On 
one  side  is  the  Cathedral,  a  very  quaint,  squat  old  building 
of  white  marble,  in  a  bastard  Byzantine  style  ;  on  the  other 
d  building  resting  on  an  arched  corridor,  which  reminds 
you  of  Venice.  Broad  slabs  of  slippery  marble  paved  the 
court,  which  we  found  utterly  silent  and  deserted.  As  the 
yellow  lustre  of  sunset  struck  upon  the  dome  and  the  front 
of  the  fortress  which  frowned  high  over  our  heads,  and  » 


6  TBAVELS   IN   GREECE    AND   RUSSIA. 

glimpse  of  purple  sea  glimmered  afar  through  the  gap  bj 
which  we  had  ascended,  I  felt  as  if  I  had  discovered  some 
lost,  forgotten  city  of  the  past,  over  which  no  wind  of  ruin 
had  as  yet  blown.  All  was  quaint  and  solemn,  mellowed 
by  the  touch  of  ago :  had  it  been  new,  it  would  have  been 
merely  grotesque. 

We  mounted  to  the  fort,  whence  there  was  T,  wide  view 
of  the  coast,  the  sea,  and  the  Dalmatian  Islands.  The  fort- 
resses appeared  to  be  no  longer  kept  up  as  defences,  foi 
which,  indeed,  they  are  now  worthless.  Sebenico  is  a  poor 
place,  and  as  proud  as  it  is  poor,  if  one  may  rely  upon  the 
statements  made  by  a  thriving  brewer,  who  keeps  a  beer- 
house on  the  quay.  "  There  is  no  such  thing  as  enterprise 
here,"  said  he  ;  "  the  country  is  capable  of  producing  much 
more  than  it  does,  if  the  people  were  not  so  lazy.  Here, 
for  instance,  are  half-a-dozen  old  Venetian  families,  who 
consider  themselves  too  nobly  born  to  do  anything,  and 
who  are  gradually  starving  in  their  pride.  After  having 
sold  everything  except  the  family  mansion,  they  then  sell 
their  plate  piece  by  piece.  What  they  will  do  when  that  is 
gone,  I  cannot  tell.  I  am  considered  rich,  because  I  earn 
more  than  I  spend,  but  am  despised  by  these  gentry 
because  I  have  a  business.  My  father  was  once  applied  to 
by  one  of  them,  who  wished  to  borrow  money.  He  went 
to  the  house,  but  was  refused  admittance  by  the  noble  lady, 
who  said :  '  Stay  in  the  street  until  my  lord  comes  out.' 
Well,  when  my  lord  came,  my  father  said  to  him:  'If  my 
person  is  not  worthy  to  enter  your  house,  my  monpy  is  not 
worthy  to  touch  your  fingers' — Mini  ^<>  left  him.  These  peo- 
ple would  like  to  restore  the  Venetian  rule,  because  the) 


PICTURES   FROM  THB   DALMATIAN   COAST.  7 

held  offices  then,  and  were  somebodies  ;  but  if  we  wtre  well 
rid  of  them,  and  could  fill  their  places  with  Germans,  not 
afraid  to  work,  it  would  be  better  for  Dalmatia."  I  have 
no  doubt  there  is  much  truth  in  the  brewer's  remarks. 
Dalmatia  seems  to  me  as  well  adapted  for  the  production  of 
wine,  oil,  and  silk,  as  any  part  of  Southern  Europe.  Its  pre- 
sent yield  of  wine,  which  is  of  excellent  quality,  amounts  to 
1,200,000  barrels  annually.  About  60,000  barrels  of  oil  are 
produced,  but  as  the  number  of  olive  trees  in  the  province 
amounts  to  near  three  millions,  and  from  two-and-a-half  to 
five  pounds  of  olives  (according  to  the  season)  yield  one 
pound  of  oil,  there  must  be  a  great  waste  of  raw  material 
in  the  preparation  of  the  article.  Wheat  and  barley  also 
thrive  remarkably  welL  The  value  of  the  staples  exported 
from  the  province  amounts  to  about  $2,000,000  yearly, 
which,  for  a  population  of  400,000,  gives  but  $5  a  head  as 
the  amount  of  their  industry  beyond  what  is  required  for 
their  maintenance. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  started  again,  still  favored 
with  cloudless  skies  and  sleeping  seas.  The  tops  of  the 
shore  hills  rose  bold  and  yellow  above  the  olive  terraces 
which  belted  their  bases,  and  far  inland  rose  pale-purple 
mountain  chains,  tipped  with  snow — the  dividing  ridge 
between  Dalmatia  and  Bosnia.  Towards  noon,  rounding 
a  point  of  the  coast  and  turning  almost  due  eastward,  the 
Bpires  of  Spalato  (not  Spalatro,  as  it  is  generally  spelled) 
famous  for  its  memories  of  Diocletian,  twinkled  before  us. 
It  lies  on  a  little  cove,  at  the  head  of  a  wide  bay,  land- 
locked by  the  islands  of  the  Dalmatian  Archipelago,  and  at 
«he  end  of  a  gently  sloping  plain  thre^  or  four  miles  long 


8  TBAVELS   IN   GREECE  AND   RUSSIA. 

The  mountains  here  fall  back,  and  form  a  graceful  amphi 
theatre,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  the  old  Roman  city  of 
Salona.  Spalato  is  founded  on  the  rums  of  Diocletian's 
palace,  the  walls  of  which  still  contain  the  whole  of  the 
mediaeval  city.  Every  one  has  heard  of  Diocletian  and  his 
Dalmatian  cabbages,  but  few  know  how  much  of  his  impe- 
rial hermitage  has  been  spared  by  time.  Let  us  go  ashore 
and  see. 


CHAPTER    II. 

FURTHER      FROM      DALMATIA. 

SPALATO  ought  properly  to  be  called  Diocleziano.  In  the 
front  of  the  long  row  of  houses  facing  the  sea,  we  counted 
twenty-eight  arches  of  the  Emperor's  palace,  and  we  recog- 
nised, in  the  hexagonal  structure  behind  the  tall  Venetian 
belfrey,  the  temple  of  Jupiter  which  stood  within  its  walls. 
Landing  in  the  midst  of  a  wild,  dirty,  but  very  picturesque 
crowd  of  Dalmatians  and  Morlaks,  we  discovered  an  arched 
entrance  into  the  mass  of  houses,  in  the  centre  of  the 
ancient  sea-front.  A  vaulted  passage,  ascending  by  irregu- 
lar steps,  led  us  into  the  midst  of  irregular  ruins,  among 
which  the  modern  inhabitants  are  nested  like  bats,  blacken- 
ing with  their  fires  and  defiling  with  their  filth  the  Roman 
arches  and  walls.  A  circular  hall,  the  vaulted  roof  of  which 
had  fallen  in,  was  evidently  the  vestibule  to  the  architec 
tural  splendors  of  the  inner  court. 

Beyond  this,  however,  the  picture  suddenly  changed 
A.  portico,  supported  by  four  pillars — monoliths  of  red 
granite,  with  Corinthian  capitals  of  white  marble — and  with 


10  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

a  pediment  sculptured  in  the  most  florid  style,  conducted 
us  to  the  court  of  the  palace,  paved  with  marble,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  colonnade  of  red  granite,  raised  upon  a  lofty 
base.  On  the  right  hand,  the  massive  portico  of  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  now  serves  as  the  foundation  of  the  lofty 
campanile,  behind  which  stands  the  temple  itself,  almost 
entire  in  all  its  parts.  On  the  left,  a  short  distance  behind 
the  colonnade,  is  a  smaller  building  of  marble,  with  a  very 
rich  Corinthian  cornice,  which  is  generally  supposed  to 
have  been  a  temple  of  ^Esculapius,  although  some  antiqua- 
ries regard  it  as  the  mausoleum  of  Diocletian.  In  front  of 
the  temple  of  Jupiter  sits  an  Egyptian  sphynx  of  black 
porphyry,  with  an  inscription  of  the  time  of  Amunoph 
III. — about  fifteen  centuries  before  Christ.  The  charm  of 
the  court  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  suddenness  with  which 
it  conies  upon  you,  and  by  contrast  with  the  tall,  plain 
masses  of  the  old  Venetian  houses  which  inclose  it.  The 
fact  that  it  served  as  a  public  square  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Spalato  of  the  middle  ages,  which  was  built  entirely 
within  the  palace-walls,  has  no  doubt  preserved  it  from  ruin. 
The  square  is  still  called  "  Piazza  del  Tempio." 

We  went  into  the  temple,  now  the  cathedral.  The 
tawdry  appurtenances  of  its  present  religion  do  not  at  all 
harmonize  with  the  simple  severity  of  the  old.  It  is  rather 
gloomy,  the  ancient  vaulted  dome  having  no  aperture  to 
admit  light,  like  that  of  the  Roman  Pantheon.  There  is 
an  external  colonnade,  which  is  gradually  falling  into  ruin 
through  neglect,  and  its  condition  shows  that  there  is  need 
of  an  appeal  simil-ir  to  that  upon  the  outside  of  a  church 
in  Florence — "It  you  bear  the  name  of  Christians,  oh 


FUKTHEK    jfKOM    DALMATIA.  11 

respect  the  temple  of  the  Lord  1"  Two  large  sarcophagi 
were  lying  between  the  columns.  One  of  them  had  a 
cracked  lid,  a  piece  of  which  Braisted  shoved  aside,  and 
diving  into  the  interior,  brought  out  a  large  thigh-bone,  the 
owner  of  which  must  have  been  over  six  feet  in  height. 
There  is  an  interior  gallery,  under  the  dome,  which  rests 
upon  columns  of  porphyry  and  grey  granite.  This  gallery 
is  adorned  with  a  frieze  representing  a  hunt,  whence  some 
suppose  the  temple  to  have  been  erected  to  Diana  instead 
of  Jupiter.  It  is  well  known,  however,  that  hunting  sub- 
jects were  used  in  the  temples  of  various  gods,  at  a  later 
period.  The  execution  is  so  very  clumsy,  that  one  can 
have  no  very  exalted  opinion  of  Diocletian's  taste.'  I  can 
only  compare  it  to  those  monstrosities  which  were  perpe- 
trated under  the  name  of  sculpture,  during  the  Greek 
Empire.  In  front  of  the  temple  of  JEsculapius  lies  a  sarco- 
phagus, which  is  supposed  to  be  that  of  Diocletian  himself, 
and  with  more  probability  than  usually  belongs  to  such 
conjectures. 

Braisted  and  I  mounted  to  the  summit  of  the  campanile, 
and  sat  down  to  contemplate  the  landscape.  It  was  a  warm, 
sun,  cloudless  day,  and  the  rich  plain  behind,  sloping  back 
to  the  site  of  the  ancient  Salona,  the  blue  harbor,  inclosed 
by  the  purple  Dalmatian  islands,  and  the  bald,  lilac-tinted 
mountains,  rising  along  the  Bosnian  frontier,  formed  so 
large,  cheerful,  and  harmonious  a  picture,  that  we  at  once 
understood  Diocletian's  choice,  and  gave  him  full  credit  for 
it.  "He  was  the  only  Roman  Emperor  who  had  good 
common  sense,"  said  B.,  with  a  positiveness  from  which 
there  was  no  appeal.  In  the  gardens  around  Spalato  wtf 


12  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

noticed  some  cabbages,  the  descendants,  probably,  of  those 
which  Diocletian  so  ostentatiously  shook  under  the  nose  of 
Maximinian.  But  in  spite  of  his  cabbages  Diocletian  wa* 
far  from  being  a  Diogenes  in  the  purple.  I  looked  down  on 
he  compact  little  town,  and  could  easily  trace  the  line  of 
his  palace- wall — an  irregular  parallelogram,  500  feet  on  the 
shortest  side,  and  670  on  the  longest.  It  was  originally 
adorned  with  eighteen  towers,  and  pierced  with  four  gates, 
the  main  entrance,  the  J?orta  Aurea  (golden  gate),  being 
on  the  side  towards  Salona.  This  has  been  recently  exca- 
vated, and,  except  that  its  statues  have  fallen  from  their 
ruches,  is  very  well  preserved.  The  other  gates  were 
named  Silver,  Bronze,  and  Iron.  Within  this  space  the 
Emperor  had  his  residence  and  that  of  a  large  retinue, 
including  his  women,  guards,  and  slaves,  besides  two  tem- 
ples, a  theatre,  bath,  and  halls  for  festivities.  The  Byzantine 
writer,  Porphyrogenitus,  who  saw  the  palace  in  its  perfect 
state,  says :  "  No  description  can  convey  any  idea  of  its 
magnificence."  Who  would  not  be  willing  to  raise  cab- 
bages in  this  style  ?  For  my  part,  I  should  not  object  tc 
a  dish  of  such  imperial  sour-krout. 

We  left  Spalato  in  the  afternoon,  and  made  for  the  port 
of  Milne,  on  the  island  of  Brazza,  whose  olive-streaked  hills 
shimmered  faintly  in  the  west.  This  island  is  the  largest  in 
the  Dalmatian  Archipelago,  producing  annually  80,000 
barrels  of  wine,  and  10,000  of  oil.  It  was  celebrated  by 
Pliny  for  its  fine  goats,  a  distinction  which  it  still  preserves, 
Brazza,  I  am  informed,  sent  quite  a  number  of  emigrants  to 
California.  It  is  curious  to  observe  how  very  closely  the 
threads  of  commercial  and  social  intercourse  are  knitted, 


FUBTHER    FKOM    DALMATIA.  18 

all  over  the  world.  All  civilized  nations  are  rapidly  bccom 
iug  limbs  of  one  vast  body,  in  which  any  ner\e  that  is 
touched  in  one  is  more  or  less  felt  by  all.  "  Our  business 
is  very  duU  in  Zara,"  said  a  Dalmatian  to  me,  "  on  account 
of  the  crisis  in  America."  "  But  the  worst  of  the  crisis 
there  is  already  over,''  I  said,  "as  well  as  in  England." 
"  Then  we  may  hope  that  ours  will  not  last  long,''  said  he 
In  Zante,  and  other  Ionian  islands,  the  people  were  greatly 
pinched,  during  the  crisis  of  1857,  because  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  could  not  afford  so  many  plum-puddings,  and  their 
currants  remained  unsold. 

Rounding  the  western  end  of  Brazza,  a  deep  channel, 
terminating  in  a  circular  harbor,  as  regular  as  if  cut  by  art, 
and  sunk  in  the  heart  of  the  hills,  opened  unexpectedly  on 
our  right.  This  was  Milne,  the  port  of  the  island,  a  silent, 
solitary,  tranquil  place,  which  even  our  arrival  did  not 
?ppear  to  excite  in  the  least.  We  halted  here  but  a  short 
time,  and  then  sped  away  to  Lesina,  where  Titian  is  said  to 
have  been  banished  for  some  years,  through  the  strait 
where,  in  1811,  four  English  vessels  defeated  the  French 
fleet  of  eleven,  touched  during  the  night  at  Curzola,  and 
by  the  next  sunrise  were  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Ragusa. 
This  is,  historically,  the  most  interesting  point  on  the  Dal- 
matian coast.  A  few  scattering  Greeks  and  Illyrians  founded 
here,  in  the  year  636,  a  little  Republic — not  bigger  than 
the  estate  of  many  an  English  nobleman — which  survived 
the  fall  of  empires,  and  the  political  storms  of  nearly  twelve 
hundred  years.  It  was  finally  wiped  out  in  January,  1808, 
oy  a  decree  of  Napoleon,  who  bestowed  upon  Marsha) 
Mannont,  the  commander  of  the  French  troops  in  Dal 


14  TEAVELS   IN   GBEECE   A1O)   KUSS1A. 

matia,  the  title  of  Duke  of  Ragusa.  Tributary  both  U 
Venice  and  the  Ottoman  Empire,  it  still  preserved  its  muni 
cipal  independence ;  and,  besides  its  commerce,  which  at 
one  time  employed  360  vessels  and  4,500  sailors,  found  lei 
sure  to  cultivate  literature  and  the  sciences.  Coeur  de  Lion, 
returning  from  Palestine,  was  entertained  as  a  guest  by  the 
Senate,  after  his  shipwreck  on  the  neighboring  island  of 
Lacroma,  where  he  built  a  church  to  commemorate  his 
escape.  The  Republic  also  sheltered  King  Sigismund  of 
Hungary,  after  Ms  defeat  by  Sultan  Bajazet,  and  three 
times  afforded  succor  to  George  Castriot,  or  Scanderbeg, 
the  last  gallant  chieftain  of  the  Grecian  Empire.  Ragusa,  in 
short,  has  stood  unharmed,  like  a  bit  of  moss  in  the  forest, 
while  every  tree  has  been  blasted  or  uprooted,  and  many  a 
chance  sunbeam  of  history  has  struck  athwart  its  secluded 
life.  Napoleon,  the  Destroyer  and  Builder,  set  his  foot 
upon  it  and  crushed  it  at  last. 

The  captain  gave  us  two  hours  for  a  ramble  on  the  shore, 
and  we  set  out  for  Old  Ragusa,  which  is  between  two  and 
three  miles  distant.  The  present  port  is  a  landlocked 
basin,  shut  in  by  sweeping  hills,  which  are  feathered  to 
their  summits  with  olive  groves,  while  the  gardens  below 
sparkle  with  their  boskage  of  orange  and  lemon  trees.  The 
hills  are  dotted  with  country  houses,  many  of  them  stately 
structures  of  the  republican  time,  but  all  more  or  less  dilapi- 
dated. Marks  of  the  French  and  subsequent  Russian 
invasion  are  seen  on  all  sides.  Roofless  houses,  neglected 
gardens,  and  terraced  fields  lying  fallow,  gave  a  melancholy 
air  of  decay  to  the  landscape.  Climbing  a  lung  hill  from 
the  harbor,  we  crossed  the  c.omb  of  a  promontory,  and 


FURTHER   FROM   DALMATIA.  16 

saw  the  sea  before  us,  while  down  in  a  hollow  of  the  coast, 
on  our  left,  swam  in  the  blue  morning  vapors  the  spires  and 
fortresses  of  Old  Ragusa.  Far  above  it,  on  the  summit  of 
the  overlooking  mountains,  shone  the  white  walls  of  anothej 
fort,  the  road  to  which  ascended  the  steep  slope  in  fourteen 
zigzags.  It  was  a  warm  picture,  full  of  strong  color,  and 
sharp,  decided  outline.  Clumps  of  aloe  clung  to  the  rocks 
below;  oranges  hung  heavy  over  the  garden  walls  above, 
and  in  a  sunny  spot  some  young  palms  were  growing. 
We  only  succeeded  in  reaching  the  outskirts  of  Old  Ragusa, 
whence  we  overlooked  the  falling  city,  upon  whose  main 
street,  paved  with  slippery  marble,  no  horse  is  yet  allowed 
to  set  his  foot. 

I  did  not  find  the  Ragusan  costumes — at  least  those 
which  I  saw — quite  so  picturesque  as  those  of  the  other 
Dalmatian  ports.  The  race,  however,  is  mainly  the  same. 
Indeed,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  of  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Dalmatia,  fifteen  out  of  sixteen  are  of  Slavic  blood. 
They  are  a  medium-sized  people,  but  tough,  hardy,  and  of 
considerable  muscular  strength.  Their  mode  of  life  is  quite 
primitive.  Every  family  has  its  patriarchal  head,  and  the 
sons  bring  their  wives  home  to  the  paternal  hut,  until  the 
natural  increase  crowds  them  out  of  its  narrow  bounds. 
The  mother  takes  her  unweaned  infant  to  the  field  with 
her,  and  lays  it  down  on  a  soft  stone  to  sleep.  They  still 
cultivate  witches,  and  believe  in  demons  and  magical  spells. 
A.mong  the  Morlaks,  the  bridegroom,  until  very  recently, 
\vas  obliged  to  catch  his  bride  in  a  public  race,  like  Hypo- 
Jtus,  or  the  Tartar  bachelors.  Blood  revenge,  as  among 
the  Corsicans,  exists  in  spite  of  the  law,  and  the  wandering 


16  TRAVELS   TK   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

baid,  singing  the  exploits  of  his  heroic  ancestors,  goes  from 
village  to  village,  as  in  the  days  of  Homer. 

Continuing  our  voyage  southward  along  the  coast,  we 
reached  in  the  afternoon  the  Hocca  di  Cattaro,  the  entrance 
to  one  of  the  wildest  and  most  wonderful  harbors  in  the 
world.  Austria  has  held  on  with  the  tenacity  of  a  terrier 
to  all  the  Venetian  settlements  along  the  Adriatic  upor 
which  she  could  lay  hands.  Look  at  the  map,  and  you  will 
see  how,  from  Zara  to  Budua,  she  has  seized  a  strip  of 
coast,  between  two  and  three  hundred  miles  in  length, 
while  its  breadth  wavers  between  five  and  thirty  miles. 
Bosnia,  the  Herzegowina,  and  Montenegro  have  now  no 
communication  with  the  sea,  except  through  Austrian  ports. 
In  two  places  this  strip  is  interrupted  by  narrow  wedges 
of  the  Turkish  territory,  which  come  down  to  the  sea — of 
course  at  points  where  no  seaport  can  be  created.  Aus- 
tria has  taken  good  care  of  that.  We  swept  close  under  a 
beetling  cliff  of  mellow-tinted  rock,  up  which  rose,  bastion 
over  bastion,  the  heavy  white  walls  of  a  fortress.  The 
mouth  of  the  bay  is  somewhat  less  than  a  mile  in  breadth, 
with  an  island,  also  fortified,  lying  athwart  it.  We 
entered  a  deep,  land-locked  sheet  of  water,  shut  in  by 
mountains.  In  the  south-east  rose  a  lofty  peak  of  the 
Montenegrin  Alps,  its  summit  glittering  with  snow. 
"  Where  do  you  suppose  Cattaro  lies  ?"  asked  the  captain. 
"Somewhere  in  this  bay,"  I  answered.  "No,"  said  he, 
"it  is  just  under  yon  snowy  peak."  "But  how  are 
we  to  get  there  ?"  "  Wait,  and  you  will  see !"  was  the 
answer. 

We  touched  at  Castelnuovo,  which  was  in  the  sixteenth 


FURTHER     FROM     DALMATIA.  17 

Century  the  capital  of  the  llerzeirowina.  It  was  taken  by 
t'ae  Spaniards,  the  allies  of  Admiral  Doria,  who,  after 
bvildinir  the  massive  fortress  which  bears  their  name  to 
this  day.  were  in  turn  driven  out  by  Khaireddin  Barba- 
rossa,  the  Turkish  Admiral.  Passing  the  warm,  amphi- 
theatric  hills,  rich  with  irroves  of  olive,  chestnut,  and  syca- 
more, we  made  for  the  southern  end  of  the  bay,  which  all 
at  once  opened  laterally  on  the  left,  disclosing  a  new  chan- 
nel, at  the  head  of  which  lay  the  little  town  of  Perasto. 
Mountains,  grey,  naked,  and  impassably  steep,  hung  over 
it.  As  we  approached,  a  church  and  monastery,  which 
seemed  to  float  upon  the  water,  rose  to  view.  They  were 
built  upon  rocks  in  the  bay — quaint,  curious  structures, 
with  bulging  green  domes  upon  their  towers.  After  pass- 
mg  Perasto,  where  the  captain  joyfully  pointed  out  his 
house  (a  white  handkerchief  was  waving  from  the  window), 
the  bay  curved  eastward  and  then  southward,  actually 
cleaving  the  mountain  range  to  the  very  foot  of  the  central 
peak  of  snows.  On  all  sides  the  bare  steeps  arose  almost 
precipitously  from  the  water  to  the  height  of  3,000  feet. 
We  were  on  a  mountain  lake ;  the  fiercest  storms  of  the 
Adriatic  could  not  disturb  the  serenity  of  these  waters. 
They  are  barricaded  against  any  wind  that  blows.  At  the 
extremity  of  the  lake,  under  the  steepest  cliffs,  lay  Cattaro, 
with  its  sharp  angled  walls  of  defence  climbing  the  moun- 
tain to  a  height  of  nearly  a  thousand  feet  above  it.  The 
sun  had  long  since  set  on  the  town,  although  the  mountains 
burned  with  a  tawny  lustre  all  along  the  eastern  shore. 
We  steamed  up  and  cast  anchor  in  front  of  the  sea-wall. 
We  landed  at  once,  in  order  to  takr  advantage  of  the 


18  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

vanishing  daylight.  A  wild  design  for  a  moment  came 
into  my  head — to  take  horses  and  a  guard,  ride  up  tha 
mountain  and  over  to  Cettigne,  the  capital  of  Montenegro, 
and  back  again  by  sunrise — but  unfortunately  there  was  DO 
moon,  and  I  should  have  had  the  danger  and  the  fatigue  for 
nothing.  Cattaro  is  a  fortress,  and  the  town,  squeezed 
within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  walls,  has  the  deepest  and 
darkest  streets.  We  discovered  nothing  of  note  in  the 
course  of  our  ramble.  The  place,  I  suspect,  is  much  as  it 
was  when  Venice  defended  and  Khaireddin  besieged  it. 
We  stood  a  moment  in  the  public  square  to  see  the  over- 
hanging mountains  burning  with  vermillion  and  orange  in 
the  last  splendor  of  sunset,  and  then  threaded  the  town  to 
the  further  gate,  where  a  powerful  spring  of  the  purest 
beryl-colored  mountain  water  gushes  out  from  tinder  the 
walls. 

A  native  Cattarese,  who  spoke  some  Italian,  hung  on  to 
our  skirts,  in  order  to  get  a  little  money  as  a  guide.  "  Find 
me  some  natives  of  Montenegro  !"  I  said  to  him.  "  Oh, 
they  wear  the  same  dress  as  the  Dalmatians,"  said  he,  "but 
you  can  tell  them  by  the  cross  on  their  caps."  Soon  after- 
ward we  encountered  an  old  man  and  his  son,  both  of  whom 
had  a  gilded  Greek  cross  on  the  front  of  the  red  fez  which 
they  wore.  "  Here  are  two  I"  exclaimed  the  guide.  He 
then  stopped  them,  and  without  more  ado,  pulled  off 
tht  old  man's  fez,  showed  us  the  cross,  and  opened  the  folds 
of  the  cap,  where  a  second  cross  and  a  number  of  zwan« 
zigers  were  hidden.  "  Here  they  keep  their  money,"  he 
explained.  The  old  fellow  took  the  whole  proceeding  very 
good-humoredly,  and  was  delighted  when  I  said  to  him 


FROM    DALMATIA.  19 

;t  Sbogo  /"  (the  Ulyrian  for  "  good-bye!")  at  parting.  Soon 
ifterwards  we  met  somepandours  or  irregular  soldiers,  of 
the  Vladika  of  Montenegro.  They  wore  a  spread-eagle  or, 
their  caps,  in  addition  to  the  cross.  Our  guide  stopped 
them,  and  informed  them  (as  I  guessed)  that  we  wanted 
lo  look  at  them.  A  proud  straightening  of  the  body,  a 
haughty  toss  of  the  head,  and  a  glance  of  mingled  dignity 
and  defiance  was  the  only  answer,  as  they  held  their  way. 
I  was  delighted  with  this  natural  exhibition  of  their  self- 
esteem,  though  it  had  been  called  forth  in  so  offensive  a 
way. 

I  heard  very  contradictory  accounts  respecting  the  pre- 
sent Vladika  (Prince)  of  Montenegro.  Our  captain  spoke 
of  him  as  a  highly-accomplished  man,  with  a  marked  taste 
for  literature,  and  rather  sneered  at  his  wife,  the  daughter 
of  a  Trieste  merchant,  who  pinched  himself  to  give  her  a 
dowry  of  a  million  of  zwanzigers  (about  $168,000)  and 
thereby  secure  the  hand  of  Prince  Danilo.  On  the  other 
hand,  an  English  officer  who  visited  Cettigne,  informed  mi- 
that  the  Vladika  is  a  rough,  boorish,  and  stupid  fellow,  and 
that  his  wife  is  handsome,  accomplished,  and  fascinating.  1 
should  judge  the  latter  report  to  be  the  correct  one,  as  we 
are  beginning  to  hear  the  most  arbitrary  and  brutal  acts 
charged  against  the  Vladika.  His  predecessor  was  a 
Bishop,  which  did  not  prevent  him  from  being  a  capital 
shot  and  a  good  horseman.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  little 
robber  State  will  not  be  very  long-lived,  and  that  it  will 
finally  fall  into  the  claws  of  Austria.  But  she  will  neither 
get  it  nor  hold  it  without  fighting. 

We  lay  all  night  at  Cattaro.     So  completely  is  the  place 


20 

inclosed  that  the  climate  is  different  from  that  of  Castel 
nuovo.  The  night  was  very  cold,  and  as  we  steamed  off  in 
the  morning  we  found  the  bay  covered  with  a  light  sheet 
of  ice  from  shore  to  shore.  Outside,  the  air  was  mild  and 
delightful.  A  short  distance  beyond  the  Bocca  di  Cattaro, 
we  passed  Budua,  another  Venetian  colony,  and  the  last 
Austrian  port.  Early  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  Antivari, 
in  Albania,  the  seaport  of  the  large  city  of  Scutari,  which 
is  nearly  a  day's  journey  in  the  interior.  The  coast  grew 
wilder  and  bolder  ;  huge,  tawny  mountains  soai%ed  from  the 
sea  to  the  clouds  which  rested  on  their  snow-streaked  sum- 
mits, and  the  signs  of  habitation  became  less  and  less 
frequent.  The  next  morning  we  were  at  Durazzo,  a  singu- 
larly picturesque  town  on  a  hillside  defended  by  massive 
Venetian  walls,  above  which  shoots  the  slender  shaft  of  a 
minaret.  Thence  we  ran  along  under  the  Acroceraunian 
mountains,  whose  topmost  peak,  Mount  Tschika,  a  shining 
wedge  of  snow,  serves  as  a  landmark  for  all  this  part  of  the 
Albanian  coast.  At  Avlona,  we  saw  the  huge  fortress 
built  by  Ali  Pasha,  the  Turkish  city  in  the  rear,  with  its 
ten  minarets,  and  the  old  Greek  town  and  acropolis  crown- 
ing the  mountain  ridge  above.  Acrocerauuia  is  a  wild  and 
gloomily  grand  region,  full  of  glorious  subjects  for  the  land- 
scape painter. 

Our  deck  now  began  to  be  covered  with  picturesque 
forms — Turkish  soldiers,  Albanians,  with  white  kirtles  and 
whole  arsenals  in  their  belts,  Greek  and  Moslem  merchants. 
Among  them  I  noticed  a  Bosnian,  whose  white  turban  and 
green  jacket  denoted  particular  holiness.  Accosting  him 
in  Arabic,  which  he  spoke  imperfectly,  I  found  he  was  a 


FURTHER   FROM   DALMATIA.  21 

kadji,  having  made  the  grand  pilgrimage  to  all  the  holy 
places.  We  quite  agreed  upon  the  subject  of  Damascus, 
the  mere  mention  of  which  brought  the  water  into  his 
mouth.  He  prayed  with  praiseAvorthy  regularity,  at  the 
stated  times,  generally  finding  the  direction  of  Mecca 
within  four  points.  One  evening,  however,  while  we  were 
at  anchor,  the  ship  drifted  around  with  the  tide,  and  the 
hadji,  not  noticing  this,  commenced  praying  with  his  face 
towards  Rome.  I  at  once  perceived  this  scandalous  mistake, 
and  interrupted  the  devotions  of  the  holy  man,  to  set  him 
right.  "  In  the  name  of  God !"  he  exclaimed ;  "  but  yoc 
are  right.  This  comes  of  trusting  the  Frank  vessels.'' 


CHAPTER    III. 

riBST     DAYS     IN     GREECE 

OUR  steamer  lay  four  days  at  Corfu,  during  which  tim« 
we  took  up  our  quarters  in  a  hotel  on  shore.  The  days 
were  warm  and  sunny,  and  we  had  no  need  of  fire  except 
in  the  evenings.  Corfu  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  of  the 
Mediterranean  islands.  Particularly  agreeable  to  me  was 
the  English  order,  cleanliness,  and  security  which  prevail 
here,  as  everywhere  else  under  the  shadow  of  the  British 
flag.  Many  of  the  lonians  are  dissatisfied  with  the  English 
protectorate,  and  would  willingly  be  incorporated  into  the 
Hellenic  Kingdom.  I  venture  to  say  that,  if  this  were  done, 
five  years  would  not  elapse  before  the  islands  would  be  as 
insecure,  the  internal  improvements  as  much  neglected, 
and  the  Government  as  corrupt,  as  that  of  Greece  itself. 
There  are  two  things  without  which  the  English  cannot 
exist — uivil  order  and  good  roads ;  and  they  are  just  the 
things  which  Greece  most  wants. 

During  a  short  excursion  into  the  interior  of  the  island, 
I  was  struck  by  the  indolence  and  lack  of  enterprise  of  the 


FIRST  DATS   IN   GREECE.  23 

inhabitants.  We  drove  for  miles  through  groves  of  splen- 
did olive-trees,  many  of  them  upwards  of  five  hundred  years 
old,  and  bending  under  their  weight  of  ungathered  fruit. 
Thousands  of  barrels  of  oil  were  slowly  wasting,  for  want 
of  a  little  industry.  I  was  told,  to  be  sure,  that  the  Alba- 
nians had  been  sent  for  to  assist  in  gathering  in  the  crop, 
and  would  come  over  as  soon  as  their  own  work  was  com- 
pleted ;  the  Corfiotes  appeared  to  be  in  the  meantime 
resting  on  their  oars.  The  currant  crop  had  been  much 
damaged  by  violent  rams,  and  the  people,  therefore,  com- 
plained of  hard  times ;  but  there  always  will  be  hard  times 
where  thrift  and  forethought  are  so  scarce.  Col.  Talbot, 
the  Resident  for  Cephalonia,  informed  me  that  the  natives 
of  that  island,  on  the  contrary,  are  very  industrious  and 
economical. 

We  left  Corfu  at  midnight,  and  by  sunrise  the  next 
morning  reached  Prevesa,  situated  just  inside  the  mouth 
of  the  Ambracian  Gulf,  and  opposite  to  the  low  point  on 
which  stood  Actium.  Through  the  narrow  strait  by  which 
we  had  entered,  fled  Cleopatra  in  her  gilded  galley,  fol- 
lowed, ere  long,  by  the  ruined  Antony.  The  ruins  of 
Nicopolis  (the  City  of  Victory),  which  Caesar  built  to  com- 
memorate the  battle,  are  scattered  over  the  isthmus 
between  the  sea  and  the  gulf,  about  three  miles  north  of 
Prevesa.  Here  we  took  on  board  His  Excellency  Abd-er- 
Rakhman  Bey,  military  Governor  of  Candia,  and  his  suite, 
consisting  of  an  ugly  adjutant,  a  stupid  secretary,  and  two 
wicked-looking  pipe-bearers.  The  latter  encamped  on  the 
quarter-deck,  but  the  Bey  took  a  first-cabin  passage.  As 
he  si>oke  no  language  but  Turkish,  our  communication  w»a 


24  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

rather  limited,  although  he  evinced  a  strong  desire  to  be 
social  with  us.  His  supply  of  oranges  was  distributed 
without  stint,  and  one  day  at  dinner  he  surprised  the  lady- 
passenger  by  sending  for  a  hard-boiled  egg,  which  he  care- 
fully shelled,  stuck  upon  the  end  of  his  knife,  and  handed 
across  the  table  to  her.  He  was  particularly  careful  not  to 
touch  pork,  but  could  not  withstand  the  seductions  of  wine, 
which  he  drank  in  great  quantities.  In  proportion  as  he 
drank,  he  breathed  asthmatically,  and  became  confidential. 
At  such  times,  he  would  complain  of  the  enormous  expense 
of  his  household,  occasioned  by  his  having  three  wives. 
One  he  had  married  because  he  loved  her,  another  because 
she  wanted  to  marry  him,  and  the  third  he  had  bought  at 
Trebizond  for  twenty  thousand  piastres.  He  was  obliged 
to  keep  thirty  servants,  ten  for  each  wife,  and  the  three 
dames,  he  gave  us  to  understand,  were  not  particularly 
harmonious  in  their  mutual  relations.  Thereupon  the  Bey 
sighed,  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  wished  he  was  a  Frank. 

We  touched  at  Santa  Maura,  the  capital  of  Leucadia. 
A  single  palm-tree  and  some  chimneys  rose  above  the  heavy 
Venetian  walls  of  the  town,  which  frown  defiance  at  the 
old  Turkish  fortress  across  the  strait.  The  island  appears 
to  be  well  cultivated ;  we  sailed  for  several  hours  under  its 
western  shore,  which  falls  in  steep  masses  of  pale  red  rock 
to  the  sea.  Sappho's  Leap,  of  course,  was  the  great  point 
of  interest.  It  is  a  precipice  about  two  hundred  feet  in 
height,  near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  island,  and,  1 
should  judge,  well  adapted  for  the  old  lady's  purpose.  I 
must  confess  that,  in  spite  of  Sappho's  genius — and  I  believe 
hei  to  be  the  only  genuine  female  poet  for  two  thousand 


FltiST  DAYS   IN   GREECE.  25 

years  before  and  after  her  time — her  theatrical  deatb  does 
uot  move  me  now.  It  once  did.  At  the  age  of  seventeen, 
I  wrote  a  poem,  wildly  thrilling  and  full  of  gushing  pathos, 
on  "  The  Death  of  Sappho."  Of  course,  I  represented  her 
as  a  young  and  beautiful  girl.  But  it  makes  a  difference, 
\\  hen  you  know  that  she  was  old  enough  to  be  Phaon's 
m  other,  and  that,  although  Alcseus  sings  of  her  as  the 
"  violet-haired  and  sweetly-smiling  Sappho,"  the  probability 
is  that  she  was  sallow,  scraggy,  and  ill-favored,  as  are  all 
Grecian  women  at  the  age  of  fifty. 

The  fact  is,  the  mist  of  antiquity  enlarges,  glorifies,  and 
transfigures  everything.  As  it  was  in  the  days  of  Solon  and 
Pisistratus,  so  it  is  now.  The  Heroic  Age  is  far  behind  us ; 
the  race  of  demigods  has  disappeared  from  the  earth. 
Perhaps  it  is  as  well  that  the  Past  is  so  doubtful,  that  we 
look  upon  its  figures  as  on  the  procession  of  a  marble  frieze, 
not  applying  to  them  the  littleness  of  our  own  everyday 
life.  We  should  else  lose  somewhat  of  our  veneration  foi 
them,  and  thereby,  for  what  is  noble  in  our  own  time. 
Plato  in  patent-leather  boots — and  yet,  no  doubt,  Plato 
conformed  to  the  petty  fashions  of  his  time — would  not  be 
for  us  the  honey-lipped  sage  of  the  Academy.  Every  man 
of  those  old  Greeks  had  his  faults,  his  jealousies,  his  sins — • 
not  less  than  our  own,  but  rather  more.  The  historic 
interest  attaching  to  a  place,  is  one  thing;  the  emotion 
«rhich  it  inspires  in  the  traveller's  mind,  is  another.  When 
the  latter  does  not  come  unsought,  it  is  a  pitiful  hypocrisy 
to  counterfeit  it,  and  I  therefore  promise  the  reader,  that, 
as  1  do  not  consider  the  ancient  Greeks  a  whit  better  than 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  although  in  specialities  they  obtained  a 


26  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

higher  development,  I  shall  concern  myself  with  them  as 
little  as  possible. 

Cephalonia  now  rose  before  us,  with  the  steep,  blue  hilla 
of  Ithaca  on  the  left,  and  at  sunset  we  were  at  anchor  in 
the  spacious  Gulf  of  Argostoli.  The  town  is  built  along 
one  side  of  a  circular  bay,  and  makes  a  very  pretty  appear 
auce  from  the  water.  Here  we  landed  Col.  Talbot,  the 
Resident  of  the  island,  a  very  agreeable  and  intelligent 
gentleman,  who  appears  to  be  quite  popular  among  the 
natives.  During  the  night  we  touched  at  Zante,  and  by 
sunrise  lay  at  anchor  off  Missolonghi,  renowned  through 
the  names  of  Bozzaris  and  Byron.  The  bay  is  so  shallow 
that  large  vessels  cannot  approach  nearer  than  four  or  fivt 
miles,  owing  to  which  cause  we  were  unable  to  go  ashore. 
The  town  is  built  on  level,  marshy  ground,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Acarnanian  Mountains,  yet,  in  spite  of  its  situation,  it 
is  said  to  be  quite  healthy.  Among  our  passengers  was  a 
native  of  Missolonghi,  a  gigantic  Greek,  by  the  name  of 
"  George,''  the  avant-courier  of  a  Russian  nobleman.  He 
remembered  Byron  in  his  Greek  costume,  very  well.  His 
father  was  killed  during  the  siege,  himself,  mother,  and 
sisters  taken  by  the  Egyptians  and  sent  as  slaves  to  Cairo, 
whence  they  only  escaped  after  seven  years'  servitude. 
After  serving  as  courier  for  many  years,  he  had  come  baJi 
to  Missolonghi  to  settle,  and  had  laid  out  his  earnings  in  a 
currant  plantation  ;  which  speculation,  on  account  of  the 
vine-sickness  and  heavy  rains,  turned  out  so  badly  that  he 
was  obliged  to  go  back  to  his  old  business.  He  looked  like 
an  honest  fellow,  and  in  spite  of  his  extreme  obsequious- 
ness and  constant  use  of  "  gnddiger  herr^  (which  came 


FIRST   DAYS   IK   GREECE.  27 

from  having  lived  in  Vienna),  I  agreed  to  employ  him  until 
we  should  get  settled  in  Athens. 

On  the  southern  or  Acha'ian  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Corinth, 
sixteen  miles  distant,  is  Patras,  one  of  the  most  flourish, 
ing  ports  in  Greece.  The  mediaeval  town,  as  well  as  the 
broad,  rich  plain  behind  it,  were  completely  laid  waste  by 
the  troops  of  Ibrahim  Pasha,  and  only  the  fortress,  which 
crowns  a  steep  height,  and  from  which  the  Greeks  never 
were  able  to  dislodge  the  Turkish  garrison,  even  when  all 
the  rest  of  the  Morea  was  in  their  own  hands,  has  been 
spared.  From  its  walls,  on  the  warm,  cloudless  afternoon 
of  our  visit,  we  overlooked  the  beautiful  Achaian  plain, 
whose  olive  orchards,  barely  old  enough  to  give  a  faint, 
silvery  gleam  to  the  landscape,  showed  how  complete  the 
desolation  had  been.  At  our  feet  lay  the  white,  bustling, 
new  town,  a  very  hive  of  industry ;  then  the  dark,  dazzling 
purple  of  the  Gulf,  beyond  which  the  stupendous  headlands 
of  Kakiscala  and  Arassova  rose  like  colossal  pyramids. 

At  Patras,  I  set  foot,  for  the  first  time,  on  the  mainland 
of  Greece,  and  nowhere  could  a  stranger  receive  a  more 
favorable  impression  of  Modern  Hellas.  The  streets  are 
broad,  regular,  and  kept  in  very  good  order,  the  houses 
comfortable  and  substantial,  the  bazaars  crowded,  and  the 
shops  of  the  mechanics,  open  to  the  street,  present  a  suc- 
cession of  busy  pictures.  Few  idlers  were  to  be  seen  ; 
even  the  shoemaker  was  putting  out  a  row  of  soles  to  dry, 
in  the  principal  street,  and  some  ropemakers  were  reel- 
ing in  another.  Meeting  the  Bey,  who  was  walking  about 
in  state,  followed  at  a  respectful  distance  by  his  attend- 
ants, we  invited  him  to  accompany  us  to  a  garden  outside 


28  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

the  town,  whither  George  proposed  conducting  us  The 
nnusual  procession  attracted  a  number  of  spectators,  and 
we  were  followed  by  a  large  crowd  of  boys  to  the  outskirts 
of  Patras.  The  garden  was  of  considerable  extent,  and 
filled  with  superb  orange  and  lemon  trees,  boughs  of  which 
were  broken  and  laid  before  us.  The  attendants  brought 
a  table,  the  Bey  lit  his  pipe,  and  three  of  the  delights  of 
the  Orient — shade,  smoke,  and  verdure — were  at  once  sup- 
plied. In  an  arbor  near  us  were  a  party  of  Greeks,  the 
gentlemen  in  crimson  jackets  and  leggings  and  snowy  fus- 
tanellas,  and  the  ladies  in  the  coquettish  little  fez,  with  its 
golden  tassel,  which  gives  such  a  charm  to  black  eyes  and 
black  hair. 

The  next  morning  we  passed  between  the  fortresses  of 
Morea  and  Roumelia,  touched  at  Lepanto  (the  ancient 
Naupactus),  and  found  ourselves  fairly  within  that  long, 
land-locked  gulf,  whose  shores  are  mountains  of  immortal 
name.  The  day  was  of  a  crystalline  clearness,  and  the 
long,  rhythmical  undulations,  the  grouped  or  scattered 
peaks  of  those  interlinking  mountain-chains,  which  seem  to 
have  arisen,  like  the  walls  of  Thebes,  to  the  sound  of  music, 
were  as  clearly  and  delicately  cut  upon  the  blue  plane  of 
the  air  as  the  figures  of  a  frieze  of  Phidias.  As  we  stood 
across  towards  Vostitza,  the  snowy  hump  of  Parnassus  rose 
above  his  tawny,  barren  buttresses,  crowning  the  Dorian 
hills.  Further  eastward,  the  faintly-streaked  summit  01 
Helicon,  whose  base  thrust  a  bold  headland  into  the  gulf; 
still  further,  floating  in  the  dimmest  distance,  Cithaeron, 
and  on  the  southern  shore,  before  us,  the  wild,  dark  masses 
of  the  Erymanthian  hills,  sloping  away  towards  the  white 


FIRST   DAYS    IN   GREECE.  28 

cone  of  Cyllene,  whose  forests  sheltered  the  young  Jupitei . 
Apart  from  the  magic  of  these  names,  the  Corinthian  Gull 
is  a  noble  piece  of  water,  deep,  sheltered,  and  with  few 
impediments  to  navigation.  But  how  deserted  !  During 
the  day  we  spent  in  traversing  its  whole  length,  crossing 
twice  from  shore  to  shore,  we  did  not  see  three  vessels. 
At  Galaxidi,  near  the  foot  of  Parnassus,  however,  ship- 
building is  carried  on  to  some  extent,  the  wood  being 
brought  down  from  the  Dorian  forests.  The  Greek  vessels 
are  all  very  small,  and  the  largest  of  those  on  the  stocks  at 
Galaxidi  would  not  exceed  two  hundred  tons. 

By  sunset,  we  were  anchored  at  Lutraki,  on  the  Isthmus 
of  Corinth,  at  the  foot  of  a  spur  of  the  Geranean  Hills. 
Corinth  and  its  grand  acropolis  lay  to  the  south,  eight  or 
ten  miles  distant,  guarding  the  entrance  into  the  Pelopon- 
nesus; the  Nemean  Hills,  the  boundary  of  Argos,  rose 
duskily  in  the  rear.  A  chilly  tramontana,  or  northwind, 
was  blowing,  and  the  barren,  rocky,  desolate  shore  sug- 
gested Norway  rather  than  Greece.  Notwithstanding 
Lutraki  is  the  port  of  transit  for  the  western  side  of  the 
Isthmus,  which  is  here  only  four  or  five  miles  in  breadth, 
the  place  consists  of  just  three  houses.  A  warm  mineral 
spring,  with  decided  healing  properties,  gushes  out  of  the 
earthv  on  the  shore  of  the  Gulf,  but  nobody  can  make  use 
of  it,  because  there  is  no  house  erected,  and  no  possibility 
of  getting  a  bed  or  a  meal  in  the  whole  town.  That  eve- 
ning, at  dinner,  the  Greeks  told  us  how  the  road  across 
the  isthmus  is  guarded  with  troops,  because  only  two  years 
previous  sixty  thousand  drachmas  ($10,000)  belonging  to 
the  Government  were  taken  by  robbers.  Also,  that  the 


30  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

same  gentlemen  had  quite  recently  er-tered  Corinth,  phui 
dered  the  house  of  a  merchant  and  carried  off  his  little  son 
whom  they  retained  in  the  mountains  until  the  father  raised 
an  immense  ransom.  I  began  to  find  my  respect  for 
Modern  Greece  rapidly  diminishing. 

The  next  morning  we  were  transported  across  the  isth  • 
mus  in  shabby,  second-hand  carriages.  The  country  is  a 
wilderness,  overgrown  with  mastic,  sage,  wild  olive,  and 
the  pale  green  Isthmian  pine.  Companies  of  soldiers,  in 
grey  Bavarian  uniforms,  guarded  the  road.  The  highest 
part  of  the  isthmus  is  not  more  than  a  hundred  feet  above 
the  sea,  and  it  is  estimated  that  a  ship  canal  could  be  cut 
through  for  about  two  millions  of  dollars.  Kalamaki,  on 
the  eastern  side,  is  a  miserable  little  village,  with  this 
advantage  over  Lutraki,  that  it  possesses  a  khan.  The 
steamer  from  Piraeus,  which  was  to  take  us  thither,  had 
not  arrived,  and  towards  noon  the  pangs  of  hunger  com- 
pelled us  to  visit  this  khan.  We  found  the  Greek  passen- 
gers already  assembled  there,  and  regaling  themselves  on 
the  various  delicacies  displayed  at  the  door.  There  were 
fish  of  various  kinds,  swimming  in  basins  of  rancid  oil,  but 
they  had  been  cooked  two  or  three  days  previous,  and 
were  not  to  be  eaten.  We  had  more  success  with  the 
bread,  but  the  wine  resembled  a  mixture  of  vinegar  and 
tar,  and  griped  the  stomach  with  sharp  claws.  The 
appearance  of  the  cheese,  which  was  packed  into  the  skin 
of  a  black  hog,  who  lay  on  his  back  with  his  snout  and 
four  feet  in  the  air,  and  a  deep  gash  in  his  belly,  in  order  to 
reach  the  doubtful  composition,  was  quite  sufficient.  We 
at  last  procured  i  few  e<^s  and  some  raw  onions,  both  o/ 


FIRST  DAYS   IN   GREECE.  3J 

which  arc  protected  by  nature  from  the  contact  of  tilth} 
hands,  and  therefore  cannot  be  so  easily  spoiled. 

I  went  into  some  of  the  rooms  of  the  khan,  which  offered 
simply  bare  walls,  a  dirty  floor,  and  no  window,  for  the 
accommodation  of  travellers.  An  Albanian  Greek  and  his 
wife,  who  took  their  breakfast  in  one  of  these  rooms,  were 
obliged  to  pay  half  a  dollar  for  the  use  thereof.  The  Alba 
nian  had  been  for  some  years  settled  in  Athens,  where  he 
was  doing  business  as  a  small  shopkeeper.  At  length,  he 
felt  the  need  of  a  wife,  and,  true  to  the  clannish  spirit  of 
the  Greeks,  went  off  to  his  native  Janina  to  procure  one 
There  were  plenty  of  better  educated  and  handsome: 
women  in  Athens,  but  he  preferred  the  stout  mass  of 
health,  stupidity,  and  pitiable  ignorance  which  he  wa? 
taking  home,  because  she  belonged  to  his  own  tribe.  I  do 
not  suppose  she  ever  before  wore  a  Christian  dress,  or 
ate  otherwise  than  with  her  fingers,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
look  after  and  assist  her,  as  if  she  had  been  a  three-years- 
old  child.  In  the  morning,  he  superintended  her  toilette, 
helping  her  to  wash  and  dress  herself;  at  table,  he  placed 
the  food  upon  her  plate  and  showed  her  how  to  eat  it ;  and 
he  never  dared  to  leave  her  for  a  moment  through  the  day, 
lest  she  should  make  some  absurd  mistake.  I  admired  hia 
unremitting  care  and  patience,  no  less  than  her  perfect 
reliance  on  his  instructions.  In  fact,  it  was  quite  touching 
»l  times  to  see  her  questioning,  half-frightened  look  say  to 
him :  "  What  must  I  do  now  ?"  If  he  sought  a  healthy 
mother  for  his  children,  he  certainly  found  one,  but  I  sus 
pect  that  is  about  the  only  advantage  he  will  derive  fronc 
his  union  with  her 


32  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA 

It  was  noon  before  we  embarked,  and  a  violent  north 
wind  retarded  our  slow  old  steamer.  We  ran  across  the 
Saronic  Gulf,  between  the  islands  of  Salamis  and  Egina, 
catching  a  glimpse  of  Megara  on  the  right,  while  the  Aero 
polis  of  Corinth  sank  and  grew  dim  behind  us.  But  every 
body  knows  the  letter  of  Sulpicius  to  Cicero,  rhymed  by 
Byron,  and  I  shall  not  quote  it  again.  On  Egina  I  saw,  ii 
the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Pan 
hellenius.  Turning  to  one  of  the  Greeks  on  board  (an  ex- 
member  of  the  Legislature  of  the  Ionian  Islands),  I  pointed 
it  out  to  him.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  "  I  did  not  know  there  was 
a  temple  there !" — and  yet,  thence  came  the  Eginetan  mar- 
bles. As  we  turned  the  corner  of  Salamis,  the  Acropolis 
of  Athens  detached  itself  from  the  shadows  wrapping  the 
base  of  Hymettus,  and  shone  with  a  beckoning  gleam.  In 
half  an  hour  more,  it  was  dark.  The  wind  blew  fiercely, 
the  moon  shone  cold,  and  we  moved  slowly  into  the  harbor 
of  the  Piraeus. 

The  competition  of  the  boatmen  was  something  frightful. 
George,  however,  shielded  us,  and  in  the  course  of  time 
we  landed  with  our  baggage.  Lumbering  carriages  were 
in  waiting  to  take  us  to  Athens.  Nobody  called  for  pass- 
ports, and  a  huge  official,  with  baggy  island  trowsers  and  a 
smiling,  rotund  face,  turned  his  back  when  our  trunks  were 
brought  ashore,  in  consideration  of  the  moderate  fee  of 
sixteen  cents. 

Now  we  set  off  for  Athens,  shivering  in  the  sharp  wind, 
and  looking  out  on  either  hand  on  bare,  bleak  fields,  lighted 
by  the  full  moon.  After  an  hour,  some  olive-trees  appeared. 
and  we  crossed  the  Cephissus ;  then  bare  fields  again, 


FIRST   DAYS   IN   GREECE.  33 

bleaker  and  colder  than  ever.  At  last  the  ground  became 
more  uneven,  broke  into  detached  hills  on  our  right,  orer 
which  towered  the  Acropolis — there  was  no  mistaking  thai 
— and  we  recognised  without  difficulty,  the  Hill  of  the 
Nymphs,  the  Areopagus,  and  the  Museion.  Now  com- 
menced the  town  itself — low,  shabby  houses,  streets  lighted 
only  by  the  moon.  Here,  thought  I,  is  a  terrible  disen- 
chantment. Can  anything  be  more  forlorn  and  desolate? 
The  chill,  grey  hue  of  all  things,  the  bareness  and  bleak- 
ness of  our  approach,  the  appearance  of  the  modern  town, 
the  cold,  piercing  air,  made,  all  together,  the  most  disheart- 
ening impression  upon  me. 

But  when  we  got  into  Hermes  street,  and  thence  to  our 
hotel  (de  V  Orient),  things  looked  much  more  cheerful  and 
promising.  Once  inside  that  edifice,  we  forgot  our  disap- 
pointment— forgot  Athens,  indeed — for  a  Christmas  dinner 
awaited  us,  and  there  were  other  places  and  other  people 
to  be  remembered. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON    THE    ACROPOLIS. 

OITB  first  Athenian  day  was  bright  and  fair,  and  wbat  w« 
saw  during  a  walk  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Olympus  was 
entirely  sufficient  to  remove  the  chill  impression  of  the  pre- 
vious night.  There  are  few  towns  of  its  size  in  the  world 
as  lively  as  Athens.  We  saw  almost  the  worst  of  it  on 
entering  from  the  Piraeus.  All  the  northern  portion,  which 
is  newer,  is  very  substantially  built,  and  has  a  comfortable 
air  of  growth  and  improvement.  As  half  the  population 
may  be  said  to  live  out  of  doors,  the  principal  streets  are 
always  thronged,  and  the  gorgeous  raiment  of  the  dandy 
palikars  brightens  and  adorns  them  amazingly.  It  is  not 
the  Orient,  by  a  great  deal ;  yet  it  is  far  removed  from  the 
soberness  of  Europe.  Indeed,  the  people  speak  of  Europe 
as  a  continent  outside  of  Greece.  Neither  is  Athens  parti- 
cularly Greek,  with  its  French  fashions  and  German  archi 
lecture.  It  is  simply  gay,  bizarre,  fantastic — a  salad  in 
which  many  heterogeneous  substances  combine  to  form  a 
palatable  whole. 


ON    FHB    ACROPOLIS.  3ft 

I  found  one  old  friend — Fra^ois,  the  false  Janissary,  the 
intrepid  guide,  the  armed  confront er  of  robbers,  and  the 
enthusiastic  spouter  of  Homer,  whose  mingled  wit,  activity, 
intelligence,  and  ferocity,  have  been  described  at  length  by 
the  Countess  de  Gasparin,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Strauss,  and  your 
humble  servant.  The  day  after  our  arrival,  his  Albanian 
nose  and  formidable  moustache  entered  ray  room,  followed 
by  himself  and  his  voice  of  surprise  and  welcome.  As  a 
natural  consequence,  he  was  booked  as  the  future  compa- 
nion of  our  Hellenic  journeys,  and  we  took  up  our  quarters 
in  liis  house.  Through  him,  I  at  once  procured  from  Pitta- 
kys,  the  Conservator  of  Antiquities,  a  ticket  of  admission  to 
the  Acropolis,  and  we  devoted  the  next  day  to  our  first  visit. 

Fortunately — as  so  much  of  one's  satisfaction  depends  on 
the  luck  of  his  first  impression — the  day  was  a  gift  from 
heaven ;  not  a  wind  blowing,  not  a  cloud  floating,  and  so 
warm  that  we  threw  open  all  our  windows.  Hymettus, 
Corydallus,  and  Parnes  melted  into  vapory  purple  in  the 
distance,  but  the  nearer  hills  shone  clear  against  the  bluest 
of  Grecian  skies.  Fran9ois  came  at  noon  to  accompany  us. 
All  Athens  was  in  the  streets,  and  the  crimson  jackets  and 
clean  white  fustanellas  of  the  palikars  sparkled  far  and  near 
through  the  dismal  throng  of  Frank  dresses.  We  passed 
down  Hermes  street  to  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  in  order 
first  to  visit  the  Temple  of  Theseus.  This  edifice,  the  best- 
preserved  of  all  ancient  temples,  stands  on  a  mound  at  the 
foot  of  the  Areopagus,  on  its  western  side,  overlooking  part 
of  the  molern  city.  Its  outer  colonnade  of  Doric  pillars, 
tinted  with  a  rich  golden  stain,  is  entire ;  the  cella  is  for 
the  most  part  so,  and  little  but  the  roof  is  wanting.  It  ia 


86  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

email,  but  very  beautiful,  and  with  such  a  background  !— 
the  olive  groves  of  the  Academy,  Colonos  and  Fames. 

Our  way  was  through  the  depression  between  the  Areo- 
pagus and  the  Pnyx,  but  Franyois  took  us  aside  to  show 
ns  the  smooth,  rocky  slant  on  the  Nympheon,  down  which 
the  sterile  dames  of  Athens  were  wont  to  slide,  hi  order  to 
remove  tfieir  reproach.  The  pregnant  women  also  per- 
formed the  same  ceremony,  it  is  said,  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  sex  of  the  unborn  child,  through  the  inclination  of  the 
body  to  the  right  or  left.  It  is  an  exposed  steep  plane  of 
native  rock,  with  a  rough  seat  at  the  top,  polished  very 
thoroughly  by  the  action  of  so  much  expectant  maternity. 
F.  seated  himself  and  slid  down,  in  order  to  show  us  how 
the  act  was  performed,  affirming  that  the  belief  still  exists, 
and  that  many  of  the  Athenian  women  of  the  present  day 
continue  the  practice. 

At  last  we  had  climbed  the  bare  surface  of  the  hill,  and 
stood  before  the  ancient  entrance  of  the  Acropolis — a  slop 
ing  pylon,  now  closed  by  a  wooden  grating.  An  arched 
way  through  a  Venetian  wall  on  the  right  admitted  us  to 
a  sort  o!  ruinous  terrace,  overlooking  the  theatre  of  Herodes 
Atticus,  which  has  recently  been  excavated  down  to  the 
floor  of  the  arena,  and  now  shows  its  semicircular  tiers  of 
seats  up  to  the  topmost  gallery.  Here  we  stood  directly 
under  the  south-western  corner  of  the  wall  of  the  Acropolis, 
over  the  shoulder  of  which,  like  an  ivory  wedge  in  a  field 
of  lapis-lazuli,  gleamed  a  corner  of  the  pediment  of  the  Par 
theiv  m.  Who  could  stand  looking  down  into  a  theatre  oi 
the  time  of  Hadrian,  when  the  Periclesian  temple  of  Pallas 
Athene  beckoned  to  hiri  from  the  sky  ? 


ON  THE   ACROPOLIS.  87 

We  turned  back,  climbed  a  little  farther,  entered  a  gate- 
way, exhibited  our  ticket  (a  month's  permission  to  visit 
the  Acropolis),  and  then  passed  through  another  wall  to 
the  broad  marble  staircase  leading  directly  up  to  the  Pro 
pylaea  of  the  Acropolis.  This  staircase  has  been  cleared  of 
the  rubbish  of  sixteen  centuries,  the  dislodged  stones  have 
been  partially  replaced,  and  the  work  of  restoration  is  gra- 
dually and  carefully  progressing,  so  that  in  the  course  of 
time  the  ancient  entrance  will  be  almost  reconstructed. 
On  the  right  hand,  the  steps  for  pedestrians  remain  in  their 
original  position,  and  in  the  centre  are  fragments  of  the 
inclined  plane,  roughened  by  parallel  grooves,  for  the  feet 
of  horses  and  the  wheels  of  chariots.  Above  us,  tenderly 
enshrined  in  the  blue  air,  rose  the  beautiful  Doric  pillars  of 
the  Propylaea,  bereft  of  capital  and  architrave,  but  scarcely 
needing  such  a  crown  to  perfect  their  exquisite  symmetry. 

"  You  are  now  going  up  the  same  steps  where  Pericles 
walked,"  said  Fran9ois.  Not  only  Pericles,  but  the  curled 
Alcibiades,  the  serene  Plato,  the  unshaken  Socrates,  the 
di.'ine  Phidias,  Sophocles  and  ^Eschylus,  Herodotus  and 
Themistocles,  and — but  why  mention  names,  when  the  full 
sunshine  of  that  immortal  era  streams  upon  our  pathway  ? 
And  what  is  it  to  me  that  they  have  walked  where  I  now 
walk  ?  Let  me  not  be  wheedled  out  of  my  comfortable 
indifference  by  the  rhythmic  ringing  of  such  names.  The 
traveller  comes  here  expecting  to  be  impressed  by  the  asso- 
ciations of  the  spot,  and  by  a  strong  effort  he  succeeds  in 
impressing  himself.  Repeat  the  same  names  for  him  else- 
where, and  he  will  produce  the  same  effect.  But  for  mo, 
I  am  hardened  against  conventional  sentiment ;  I  have 


38  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

seen  too  much  to  be  easily  moved ;  I  can  resist  the  magic 
of  ancient  memories,  no  matter  how  classic.  What  is  it  to 
me  that  Pericles  walked  up  these  steps — that  the  gilded 
robes  of  Aspasia  swept  these  Pentelican  slabs — that  Phidias 
saw  the  limbs  of  a  god  in  the  air,  or  Sophocles  chanted  a 
chorus  as  he  walked  ?  They  were  men,  and  I  am  a  man, 
too — probably  in  many  respects  as  good  as  they.  Had  I 
lived  in  their  time,  I  should  no  doubt  have  looked  upon 
them  without  the  least  awe — have  slapped  them  on  the  back. 
and  invited  them  to  dinner.  Now  why  should  their  ghosts 
shake  me  with  weak  emotion,  and  rob  me  of  my  cool 
judgment  ?  No.  I  shall  be  indifferent. 

So  meditating,  I  walked  up  the  steps.  When  we  reached 
the  first  range  of  pillars  stretched  across  the  stairway,  ami 
came  upon  the  level  of  the  abutments  which  project  on 
either  hand,  we  stopped.  On  the  end  of  the  right  terrace 
stands  the  little  temple  of  Nike  Apteros,  or  Wingless  Vic- 
tory, which  has  been  recovered,  piece  by  piece,  and  re- 
erected  in  its  original  form.  Opposite  to  it  is  a  mas-ivc- 
square  pedestal,  twenty  feet  high,  on  which  once  stood, 
according  to  antiquarian  surmise,  equestrian  statues  of  the 
sons  of  Xenophon.  The  little  temple  is  a  jewel  of  a  structure 
not  half  so  large  as  that  of  Vesta  at  Rome,  and  consists  only 
of  a  cella  with  four  Ionic  columns  at  each  end.  Neverthe 
less,  it  lightens  wonderfully  the  heavy  masses  of  masonry 
against  which  it  stands,  and  though  neither  in  the  lines  of 
its  erection,  nor  in  any  other  important  respect,  harmonizing 
with  the  colonnades  of  the  Propylsea,  I  defy  any  one  to 
show  wherein  it  does  not  harmonize  with  the  general 
impression  produced  by  this  majestic  front.  I  restrained 


ON  THE   ACROPOLIS.  39 

my  impatience  awhile,  to  view  it,  and  was  well  repaid  by  tht 
sight  of  the  bas-relief  of  Victory  untying  her  sandals,  the 
conjectured  work  of  Phidias. 

The  pillared  portal,  one  colonnade  rising  above  another, 
as  the  rock  ascends,  now  received  us.  Capitals  and  archi- 
traves are  gone,  except  those  of  the  last  rank,  and  huge 
blocks  of  the  superb  marble  lie  heaped  in  the  passages 
between  the  columns.  Beautiful  as  these  are,  lightly  as 
their  tapering  stems  rise  against  the  blue  vault,  the  impres- 
sion created  by  the  Propylaea  is  cheerful  and  elevating. 
And  when  you  turn,  looking  down  through  the  fluted  vista, 
over  the  Areopagus,  over  the  long  plain  of  the  Cephissus. 
shimmering  silverly  with  the  olive  groves  of  the  Academy, 
to  the  pass  of  Daphne  and  the  blue  hills  of  Salamis,  you  feel 
no  longer  the  desolation  of  ruin,  but  inhale,  with  quiet  enjoy- 
ment, the  perfect  harmony  of  the  picture. 

The  Propylaea  still  form  a  portal  which  divides  two 
worlds.  You  leave  modern  and  mediaeval  associations 
behind  you,  and  are  alone  with  the  Past.  Over  the  ram- 
parts of  the  Acropolis,  you  see  no  more  of  the  mountains 
or  the  distant  JEgean  islands  than  the  oldest  Greek — large 
outlines,  simple  tints,  and  no  object  distinct  enough  to  tell 
whether  it  be  modern  or  ancient.  The  last  of  the  portals 
is  passed :  you  are  on  the  summit  alone  with  the  Parthenon. 
You  need  no  pointing  finger:  your  eye  turns,  instinctively, 
to  where  it  stands.  Over  heaps  of  ruin,  over  a  plain  buried 
under  huge  fragments  of  hewn  and  sculptured  marble — 
drums  of  pillars,  pedestals,  capitals,  cornices,  friezes,  tri- 
glyphs,  and  sunken  panel-work — a  wilderness  of  mutilated 
Art-  -it  rises  between  you  and  the  sky,  which  forms  its  onlj 


iO  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

backgiound,  and  against  which  every  scar  left  by  the  infidel 
generations  shows  its  gash.  Broken  down  to  the  earth  in 
the  middle,  like  a  ship  which  has  struck  and  parted,  with 
the  roof,  cornices,  and  friezes  mostly  gone,  and  not  a  column 
unmutilated;  and  yet  with  the  tawny  gold  of  two  thousand 
years  staining  its  once  spotless  marble,  sparkling  with  snow- 
white  marks  of  shot  and  shell,  and  with  its  soaring  pillars 
imbedded  in  the  dark-blue  ether  (and  here  the  sky  seems 
blue  only  because  they  need  such  a  background),  yon 
doubt  for  a  moment  whether  the  melancholy  of  its  ruin,  or 
the  perfect  and  majestic  loveliness  which  shines  through 
that  ruin,  is  most  powerful. 

I  did  not  stop  to  solve  this  doubt.  Once  having  looked 
upon  the  Parthenon,  it  was  impossible  to  look  elsewhere, 
and  I  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  finding  a  narrow  lane  through 
the  chaos  of  fragments  piled  almost  as  high  as  my  head, 
until  I  stood  below  the  western  front.  I  looked  up  at  the 
Doric  shafts,  colossal  as  befitted  the  shrine  of  a  goddess, 
yet  tender  and  graceful  as  flower-stems,  upholding  without 
effort  the  massive  entablature  and  the  shattered  pediment, 
in  one  corner  of  which  two  torsos  alone  remain  of  all  the 
children  of  Phidias,  and — to  my  confusion  I  must  confess 
it — all  my  fine  resolves  were  forgotten.  I  was  seized  with 
an  overpowering  mixture  of  that  purest  and  loftiest  admi- 
ration which  is  almost  the  same  thing  as  love,  and  of  unmi- 
tigated grief  and  indignation.  Well — consider  me  a  fool 
if  you  like — but,  had  I  been  alone,  I  should  have  cast 
myself  prone  upon  the  marble  pavement,  and  exhausted, 
in  some  hysterical  way,  the  violence  of  this  unexpected 
passion.  As  it  was,  I  remained  grimly  silent,  not  venturing 


ON   THE   ACROPOLIS.  41 

to  speak,  except  when  Frai^ois,  pointing  to  the  desj  oiled 
pediment,  said  :  "  All  the  other  statues  were  carried  away 
by  Lord  Elgin."  The  strong  Anglo-Saxon  expression  I 
then  made  use  of,  in  connexion  with  Lord  Elgin's  name, 
was  not  profane,  under  such  provocation,  and  was  imme- 
diately pardoned  by  the  woman  at  my  side. 

We  ascended  the  steps  to  the  floor  of  the  temple,  walked 
over  its  barren  pavement  past  the  spot  where  stood  the 
statue  of  ivory  and  gold,  past  the  traces  of  hideous  Byzan- 
tine frescoes,  to  the  centre,  where  the  walls  and  colojmades 
on  either  hand  are  levelled  to  the  very  floor,  and  sat  down 
in  the  marble  chairs  of  the  ancient  priests,  to  contemplate 
the  wreck  in  silence.  Oh,  unutterable  sorrow  ! — for  all  the 
ages  to  come  can  never  restore  the  glory  which  has  here 
been  destroyed.  Ye  may  smile,  ye  yet  unshaken  columns, 
secure  hi  your  immortality  of  beauty,  but  ye  cannot  take 
away  the  weight  of  that  reproach  uttered  by  your  fallen 
brethren.  Man  built  them,  man  ruined  them,  but  he  can 
no  more  recreate  them  than  he  can  rebeget  the  child  which 
he  has  lost.  In  their  perfect  symmetry  was  solved  the 
enigma  of  that  harmony  which  is  the  very  being  of  God 
and  the  operation  of  His  laws.  These  blocks  of  sunny 
marble  were  piled  upon  each  other  to  the  chorus  of  the 
same  song  which  the  seasons  sing  in  their  ordered  round, 
and  the  planets  in  their  balanced  orbits.  The  cheerful  gods 
are  dethroned  ;  the  rhythmic  pulsations  of  the  jubilant  reli- 
gion which  inspired  this  immortal  work  have  died  away,  and 
Earth  will  never  see  another  Parthenon. 

The  air  was  perfectly  still,  the  sky  calm  as  Summer  over- 
head,  and,  as  we  sat  in  the  marble  chairs,  we  looked  out 


42  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

ovei'  the  ruins  and  the  parapet  of  the  Acroj  olis,  to  the 
purple  hills  of  Pentelicus  and  Parties  in  the  north  and  west, 
and  to  the  ^Egean  Sea,  flashing  in  the  sunshine  like  a  pave- 
ment of  silver  between  the  shores  of  Attica  and  JEgina 
Poros  ind  Hydra,  in  tlio  distance.  The  glorious  landscape, 
bathed  in  all  beautiful  tints,  and  tilling  the  horizon  with 
swelling  curves  and  long,  vanishing  outlines,  wore  that 
soothed  and  tranquil  air  which  a  day  of  Summer,  falling 
suddenly  in  the  lap  of  Winter,  always  brings  with  it.  But 
there  was  no  solace  for  me  in  the  sunny  repose  of  the  Gre- 
cian world  below.  I  sat  in  a  temple  dedicated  to  Eternal 
Sorrow — 

"  So  beautiful,  if  Sorrow  had  not  made 
Sorrow  more  beautiful  than  Beauty's  self" — 

and  a  grief,  in  which  there  was  no  particle  of  selfishness, 
overcame  me.  Is  it  egotism  to  mention  these  things  ?  Or 
can  I  tell  you  what  the  Parthenon  still  is,  better  than  by 
confessing  how  it  impressed  me?  If  you  want  feet  and 
yards,  cubic  measure,  history  and  architectural  technicalities, 
you  shall  have  them — but  not  to-day.  Let  me  indulge  my 
sacred  fury! 

After  awhile,  Braisted  desperately  lit  a  cigar,  saying :  "  1 
must  have  something  between  my  teeth,  or  I  shall  grind 
them  to  pieces.  I  would  destroy  all  the  later  architec- 
ture of  Europe,  except  the  Duomo  at  Milan,  to  restore 
this."  So,  almost,  would  I.  For  this  is  the  true  temple 
of  Divinity.  Its  perfect  beauty  is  the  expression  of  love 
and  joy,  such  as  never  yet  <l\velt  in  the  groined  arches  of 
Gothic  aisles,  or  the  painted  domes  of  Homan  worship 


ON  THB   ACBOPOLIS.  48 

But  Ruskin  says  that  Grecian  architecture  is  atheistic,'1 
whispers  a  neophyte  of  the  fashionable  school.  Then  tell 
Ruskin,  who  is  so  sagacious  in  some  things,  so  capricious  in 
Dthers,  that,  in  endeavoring  to  be  terse  and  original,  he  haa 
simply  been  absurd.  I  will  not  say  a  word  against  the 
solemnities  of  Gothic  Art,  which  he  declares  to  be  the  only 
religious  form  of  architecture ;  but  I  ask,  is  there  no  joy, 
no  cheerfulness,  no  comfort,  no  hopeful  inspiration,  in  our 
religion  ?  If  there  is,  God  has  no  better  temple  on  earth 
than  the  Parthenon. 

Atheistic?  Prove  it,  and  you  glorify  Atheism.  You 
may  take  models  of  the  Parthenon,  at  home,  you  may  take 
drawings  and  photographs,  and  build  up  any  super-tran- 
scendental theory  out  of  such  materials.  Then  come  here, 
stand  in  the  midst  of  its  ruin,  listen  to  the  august  voice 
which  yet  speaks  from  these  sunburnt  marbles,  and  unless 
you  be  one  of  those  narrow  souls  who  would  botanize  upon 
his  mother's  grave,  you  will  fall  down  upon  your  knees 
and  repent  of  your  sins. 

I  thought  all  these  thoughts,  and  a  thousand  more,  while 
sitting  in  the  marble  chair,  fronting  the  vacant  pavement 
of  the  sanctuary  of  Pallas  Athene.  I  did  not  care  for  the 
dethroned  Pallas,  nor  her  dead  worshippers ;  I  thought  not 
of  myself  nor  my  race,  of  Greeks  or  Americans,  of  400  B.C. 
or  1857  A.D.  I  was  possessed  with  the  spirit  of  the  glo- 
rious temple  around  and  above  me.  And  the  reflection 
came,  involuntarily:  Are  not  the  triumphs  of  human  art 
the  sublimest  praises  of  Him  who  created  the  human  mind  ? 
What  conceptions  of  a  Deity  guided  tl  e  hand  which  daubed 
yonder  barbarous  frescoes,  and  that  which  raised  these 


44  TRAVELS   EN*    GREECE   AND   BUSSIA. 

perfect  pillars  ?  What  ancient  or  modern  Saint  dares  to 
sneer  at  Heathen  Greece,  where  Socrates  spake,  and  Phidias 
chiselled,  and  Ictinus  built,  glorifying  God  through  the 
glory  of  Man  for  all  time  to  come  ? 

We  walked  slowly  away,  and  looked  down  from  the 
northern  rampart  upon  modern  Athens,  the  whole  of  which 
lay  spread  out  beneath  our  feet.  It  was  a  depressing — I 
had  almost  said  disgusting — sight.  A  company  of  dirty 
Greeks  were  gambling  in  the  street  at  the  foot  of  the  Acro- 
polis ;  the  bells  were  ringing  in  the  churches,  and  some 
bearded  priests,  with  candles  in  their  hands,  were  chanting 
nasally  and  dismally,  in  slow  procession ;  still  further,  shabby 
fiacres  moving  to  and  fro,  slovenly  soldiers  hi  German  uni- 
forms, country  people  with  laden  asses,  and  beggars  by  the 
wayside.  The  King's  Palace  shone  bald  and  broad  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Lycabettus,  and  the  new  portion  of  the  city, 
with  its  square  German  houses,  stretched  scatteringly  away 
over  the  brown  swells,  until  the  eye  passed  it  to  rest, 
relieved,  on  the  olive  orchards  of  Colonos  and  the  fair  blue 
gorges  of  Mount  Parnes. 

We  went  through  and  around  the  Erechthcion,  and  then 
slowly  picked  our  way  through  the  wilderness  of  ruin  tc 
the  Propylsea  again.  But,  as  I  descended  the  steps  of  the 
Acropolis,  I  remembered  who  had  walked  there — not  Peri- 
cles, nor  Plato,  nor  ^Eschylus,  nor  Demosthenes — bul 
Ictinus,  the  builder,  and  Pbidias,  the  sculptor  of  the  Par 
thenon. 


CHAPTER     V. 

WINTER    LIFE    IN    ATHENS. 

OUR  first  week  in  Athens  ^ras  spent  at  the  Hotel  d'Orient, 
whose  large,  dreary,  uncomfortable  apartments  we  were 
glad  to  leave.  The  nominal  cost  of  living  at  this  establish- 
ment is  ten  francs  a  day,  for  which,  however,  one  only 
receives  a  bed  and  two  meals,  the  latter  neither  choice  nor 
plentiful.  Everything  else  is  an  extra  charge,  at  the  high- 
est possible  rates.  Our  little  fire  was  kept  alive  with  bits 
of  ancient  olive-tree  roots,  at  the  rate  of  a  franc  and  a  half 
the  basketful.  The  landlord  and  servants  endeavored  to 
make  up  for  their  awkwardness  and  neglect  by  a  cringing 
obsequiousness,  which  only  rendered  them  more  disagree- 
able. The  other  Athenian  hotels,  I  understand,  are  con- 
ducted on  the  same  principle.  Like  all  other  establish- 
ments  of  the  kind  in  the  Orient,  they  are  probably  good 
enough  in  Summer,  when  fresh  air  is  the  traveller's  greatest 
luxury. 

At  the  end  of  eight  days  we  migrated  to  the  pandocheion 
af  Fran9ois,  in  a  pleasant  situation  near  the  University 


46  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AUD   RUSSIA. 

Here  we  found  less  pretentious  and  more  comfortable  apart- 
ments, and  equally  good  meals,  at  a  reasonable  price.  The 
doors  and  windows  were  shaky  and  admitted  the  wind,  it 
is  true,  but  our  sitting-room  fronted  the  south  (with  a  view 
of  the  Acropolis  and  the  Areopagus),  and  could  be  kept 
warm  without  more  labor  or  expense  than  would  be  required 
for  an  entire  dwelling  at  home.  Our  principal  anxiety 
was,  that  the  supply  of  fuel,  at  any  price,  might  become 
exhausted.  We  burned  the  olive  and  the  vine,  the  cypress 
and  the  pine,  twigs  of  rose-trees  and  dead  cabbage-stalks, 
for  aught  I  know,  to  feed  our  one  little  sheet-iron  stove. 
For  full  two  months  we  were  obliged  to  keep  up  our  fire 
from  morning  until  night.  Know  ye  the  land  of  the  cypress 
and  myrtle,  where  the  flowers  ever  blossom,  the  beams 
ever  shine  ?  Here  it  is,  with  almost  snow  enough  in  the 
streets  for  a  sleighing  party,  with  the  Ilissus  frozen,  and 
with  a  tolerable  idea  of  Lapland,  when  you  face  the  gusts 
which  drive  across  the  Cephissian  plain. 

As  the  other  guests  were  Greek,  our  mode  of  living  was 
similar  to  that  of  most  Greek  families.  We  had  coffee  in 
the  morning,  a  substantial  breakfast  about  noon,  and  din- 
ner at  six  in  the  evening.  The  dishes  were  constructed 
after  French  and  Italian  models,  but  the  meat  is  mostly 
goat's  flesh.  Beef,  when  it  appears,  is  a  phenomenon  of 
toughness.  Vegetables  are  rather  scarce.  Cow's  milk, 
and  butter  or  cheese  therefrom,  are  substances  unknown  ir. 
Greece.  The  milk  is  from  goats  or  sheep,  and  the  buttei 
generally  from  the  latter.  It  is  a  white,  cheesy  material, 
with  a  slight  flavor  of  tallow.  The  wine,  when  you  get  it 
unmixed  with  resin,  is  very  palatable.  We  drank  that  of 


WINTER   LIFE   IN    ATHENS.  47 

Santorin,  with  the  addition  of  a  little  water,  and  found  it 
an  excellent  beverage.  There  are  also  three  German  brew- 
eries in  Athens,  which  produce  Bavarian  beer.  Last  and 
not  least,  the  water,  especially  that  of  the  fountain  of 
('allirhoe,  is  delicious. 

The  other  inmates  of  our  house  consisted  of  a  Servian 
Greek,  with  his  family,  from  Thessalonica,  and  three  Greek 
ladies  from  Constantinople.  They  were  all  wealthy  persons, 
and  probably  good  specimens  of  the  Greeks  of  their  class. 
Two  of  the  ladies  received  their  education  in  Mrs.  Hill's 
school,  and  spoke  French  passably  well.  The  Servian  was 
an  amiable  fellow,  devoted  to  his  wife,  whom  he  had 
brought  to  Athens  for  her  health,  but  who  lay  for  weeks  at 
the  point  of  death.  She  had  her  bedroom  scrubbed  soon 
after  our  arrival,  and  slept  in  it  immediately  afterward. 
Besides  spending  the  coldest  of  the  winter  nights  in  prayer 
in  a  church,  her  husband  brought  a  couple  of  priests  every 
day  to  help  her  by  the  chanting  of  nasal  liturgies.  Once 
they  came  in  the  middle  of  the  night  to  administer  the 
sacrament  to  her.  As  the  poor  woman  survived  her 
spiritual  treatment,  the  material  remedies  administered  to 
her  must  have  been  of  remarkable  efficacy.  Although  her 
complaint  was  simply  an  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  the 
three  Fanariote  ladies  finally  left  the  house,  through  dread 
of  an  infection.  During  their  stay,  they  never  appeared  at 
breakfast,  their  custom  being  to  rtmaiu  in  a  loose  undress 
until  evening.  They  generally  lay  in  bed  until  noon, 
and  Theodori,  the  chamber-man,  carried  in  the  dishes  to 
them.  The  afternoon  was  devoted  to  dress,  and  the  evening 
to  cards.  Their  faces  were  daily  brightened  by  a  new  coat 


48  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE    AND   RUSSIA. 

of  joint  (an  almost  universal  practice  among  the  Greei 
ladies),  and  one  of  them,  who  was  a  widow  for  the  second 
time,  was  confined  to  her  room  two  days  every  fortnight, 
by  an  illness,  from  which  she  always  recovered  with  ac 
astonishingly  jet-black  head  of  hair. 

Our  intercourse,  however,  was  mainly  with  the  foreign 
residents,  and  our  Greek  acquaintances  were  made,  for  the 
most  part,  at  their  houses.  The  latter  have  the  reputation 
of  being  rather  clannish,  and  do  not  open  their  doors  readily 
to  strangers,  though  Mr.  Hill,  Dr.  King,  and  others  who 
have  resided  in  Athens  for  many  years,  are  on  ultimate 
social  terms  with  many  Greek  families.  Whatever  the 
cause  may  be,  there  is  certainly  more  reserve  exhibited 
towards  foreigners  than  in  most  other  countries  in  Europe. 
The  contrast  with  Sweden  and  Norway,  in  this  respect,  is 
fery  great.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  number  of  Greek 
gentlemen,  but  very  few  of  them  asked  me  to  visit  them  at 
their  houses. 

There  is  nothing  particularly  Greek  in  the  physiognomy 
of  Athens.  The  houses  of  the  better  sort  are  German  in 
outward  appearance,  while  the  poorer  dwellings  resemble 
those  of  the  Italian  villages.  A  few  squat,  ancient  churches, 
which  have  a  mellow  flavor  of  the  Lower  Empire,  remain 
here  and  there,  and  the  new  ones  are  likewise  Byzantine, 
but  of  a  plainer  and  less  picturesque  stamp.  The  only 
modern  building  which  ha*  any  pretensions  to  architectural 
beauty  is  the  University.  It  is  a  low  structure,  well-pro- 
portioned, and  with  an  inclosed  portico  of  Pentelican  mar- 
ble, the  pillars  of  which  are  finely  relieved  against  the  soft 
neutral-orange  stain  of  the  inner  wall.  The  old  Turkish 


"WINTER   LIFE   IN    ATHENS.  49 

town  was  built  close  against  the  foot  of  the  Acropolis,  on 
ihe  northern  side.  Scarcely  a  single  building  was  left  stand- 
ing at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  and  only  a  mosque  or 
two  (now  appropriated  to  other  uses)  remain  in  anything 
like  their  former  state.  The  new  town  has  stretched  itself 
northward  to  the  foot  of  Mount  Lycabettus,  and  north- 
westward across  the  plain  toward  Colonos.  For  some 
years,  apparently,  nothing  was  done  toward  regulatirg  and 
improving  the  streets,  and  they  present  the  same  tangled 
labyrinth  as  in  most  Oriental  towns.  The  newer  portions 
of  the  city,  however,  are  well  laid  out,  with  broad,  hand- 
some streets,  and  spacious  main  avenues,  converging  to  the 
palace  as  a  centre.  The  city  is  intersected  by  two  principal 
thoroughfares — Eolus  street,  which  starts  from  the  Temple 
of  the  Winds,  at  the  foot  of  the  Acropolis,  and  takes  a 
straight  course  through  the  city  to  the  plain  of  the  Cephis- 
sus,  and  Hermes  street,  commencing  in  the  middle  of  the 
square  in  front  of  the  palace,  and  running  south-westward 
to  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  the  Temple  of  Theseus 
stands.  The  course  of  the  latter  street  is  broken  in  one 
place  by  an  ancient  church,  around  which  it  diverges  in  two 
arms,  leaving  the  old,  brown,  charmingly-picturesque  little 
building  standing  like  an  island  in  the  midst.  Above  this 
interruption,  its  appearance,  with  the  long  white  front  of 
ihe  king's  palace  closing  the  ascending  vista,  is  astonishingly 
like  that  of  the  Carl-Johansgade,  in  Christiania.  Athens 
is  a  little  smaller  than  the  latter  capital,  having  at  present 
about  30,000  inhabitants.  It  would  be  interesting  to  insti- 
tute a  series  of  comparisons  between  Norway  and  Greece, 
both  new  nations  of  nearly  equal  age,  population,  and 


50  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

resources,  but  peopled  with  races  of  very  different  blood 
and  character. 

Except  during  the  severely  cold  weather,  Athens  is  at 
lively  a  town  as  may  be.  One-fourth  of  the  inhabitants,  I 
should  say,  are  always  in  the  streets,  and  many  of  the 
mechanics  work,  as  is  common  in  the  Orient,  in  open  shops. 
The  coffee-houses  of  Beautiful  Greece,  the  Orient,  Olympus, 
Mars,  &c.,  are  always  thronged,  and  every  afternoon  crowds 
may  be  seen  on  the  Patissia  Road — a  continuation  of  Eolus 
street — where  the  King  and  Queen  take  their  daily  exer- 
cise on  horseback.  The  national  costume,  both  male  and 
female,  is  gradually  falling  into  disuse  in  the  cities,  although 
it  is  still  universal  in  the  country.  The  islanders  adhere  to 
their  hideous  dress  with  the  greatest  persistence.  With 
sunrise  the  country  people  begin  to  appear  in  the  streets 
with  laden  donkeys  and  donkey-carts,  bringing  \vood,  grain, 
vegetables,  and  milk,  which  they  sell  from  house  to  house. 
Every  morning  you  are  awakened  by  the  short,  quick  cry 
of  "  gala  !  gala  /"  (milk)  followed,  in  an  hour  or  two,  by  the 
droning  announcement  of  "  anthomiro  kai  masti-i-i-ika  /" 
(mastic  and  orange-flower  water).  Venders  of  bread  and 
coffee-rolls  go  about  with  circular  trays  on  their  heads,  call- 
ng  attention  to  their  wares  by  loud  and  long-drawn  cries. 
Later  in  the  day,  peddlers  make  their  appearance,  with  pack- 
ages of  cheap  cotton  stuffs,  doth,  handkerchiefs,  and  the 
like,  or  baskets  of  pins,  needles,  buttons,  and  tape.  Thej 
proclaim  loudly  the  character  and  price  of  their  articles, 
the  latter,  of  course,  subject  to  negotiation.  The  same  cua 
torn  prevails  as  in  Turkey,  of  demanding  much  more  thac 
the  seller  expects  to  get.  Foreigners  are  generally  fleeced 


WINTER   LIFE    IN    ATHENS.  51 

a  little  in  the  beginning,  though  much  less  so,  I  b€lieve, 
chau  in  Italy.  Nevertheless,  I  cannot  quite  endorse  the 
opinion  expressed  by  Lord  Carlisle  and  Professor  Felton 
with  regard  to  Grecian  honesty. 

I  do  not  know  why  travellers  should  have  said  that  there 
are  few  beggars  in  Athens.  In  reality,  there  are  a  great 
many,  both  stationary  and  itinerant.  The  former,  of  both 
sexes  and  ah1  ages,  sit  at  street  corners  and  on  the  sunny 
side  of  walls,  where  they  keep  up  an  incessant  exhortation 
to  the  passers-by,  to  give  an  alms  for  the  sake  of  their  souls, 
and  those  of  all  their  relatives.  I  noticed  that  the  Greeks 
very  frequently  give  them  a  few  lepta,  sometimes  with  the 
remark  that  it  is  for  their  souls'  sake.  One  of  the  beggars, 
a  blind  old  man,  who  sits  in  Hermes  street,  was  formerly  a 
noted  captain  of  pirates  in  the  Archipelago.  He  lost  hia 
sight  by  the  explosion  of  a  package  of  cartridges,  and  now 
subsists  on  charity,  while  many  of  his  comrades  are  rich  and 
move  in  respectable  society.  The  beggars  who  go  from 
House  to  house  are  still  more  numerous,  but  equally  suc- 
cessful in  their  business.  The  Greeks  have  tliis  prominent 
virtue,  that  they  care  for  their  relatives  who  are  in  want, 
without  considering  it  any  particular  merit. 

The  municipal  government  of  Athens  is  perhaps  a  li ttle 
more  imperfect  than  that  of  New  York.  The  Demarch  is 
appointed  by  the  King,  out  of  three  candidates  chosen  by 
electors,  never  with  regard  to  his  fitness  for  the  office,  but 
from  his  capacity  to  make  a  pliant  tool  of  the  Court.  There 
are  courts  of  justice,  a  police  system,  and  regulations  for 
houses,  streets,  <fcc. ;  but  the  main  object  of  the  govern 
ment,  as  with  our  own  city — until  recently,  at  least — haa 


52  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE    AND   RUSSIA 

been  the  good  of  its  members  rather  than  thnt  of  the  pub 
lie.  The  streets  are  supposed  to  be  lighted,  but  it  is  not 
safe  to  go  beyond  either  of  the  two  principal  thoroughfares 
without  carrying  a  lantern.  There  was  a  lamp  opposite  to 
our  residence,  which  was  usually  lighted  about  midnight, 
after  everybody  had  gone  to  bed.  In  our  street,  which  was 
one  of  the  broadest  and  finest  in  Athens,  various  excavations 
and  levellings  were  carried  on  for  two  months,  and  at  night 
there  was  neither  a  lamp  nor  a  bar  to  prevent  persons  from 
falling  into  the  pits.  The' Queen's  Mistress  of  Ceremonies, 
Baroness  Pluskow,  while  on  her  way  to  a  ball  at  the  Turkish 
Minister's,  was  precipitated,  in  her  carriage,  down  a  perpen- 
dicular bank  three  feet  high,  running  across  the  road.  The 
French  Secretary  of  Legation,  who,  for  safety,  took  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street,  went  down  a  still  higher  bank, 
broke  his  carriage,  bruised  his  limbs,  and  lost  all  his  deco- 
rations in  the  mud.  This  state  of  things  favors  the  thieves 
who  still  abound  in  the  city.  Athens  is  no  longer  besieged 
by  bacditti,  as  it  was  about  four  years  ago,  but  burglaries 
and  highway  robberies  are  frequent. 

The  Winter  of  1857-8  was  the  severest  in  the  memory 
of  any  inhabitant.  For  nearly  eight  weeks,  we  had  an 
alternation  of  icy  north-winds  and  snow-storms.  The  ther- 
mometer went  down  to  20°  of  Fahrenheit — a  degree  of 
cold  which  seriously  affected  the  orange  if  not  the  olive 
trees.  Winter  is  never  so  dreary  as  in  those  southern  lands, 
where  you  see  the  palm-tree  rocking  despairingly  in  the 
biting  gale,  and  the  snow  lying  thick  on  the  sunny  fruit  of 
the  orange  groves.  As  for  the  pepper  trees,  with  their 
aanging  tresses  and  their  loose,  misty  foliage,  which  line  the 


WINTER   LIFE  IN   ATHENS.  58 

broad  avenues  radiating  from  the  palace,  they  were  touched 
beyond  recovery.  The  people,  who  could  not  afford  to  pur- 
chase wood  or  charcoal,  at  treble  the  usual  price,  even 
though  they  had  hearths,  which  they  have  not,  suffered 
greatly.  They  crouched  at  home,  in  cellars  and  basements, 
wrapped  in  rough  capotes,  or  hovering  around  a  mangal, 
or  brazier  of  coals — the  usual  substitute  for  a  stove.  From 
Constantinople  we  had  still  worse  accounts.  The  snow  lay 
deep  everywhere ;  charcoal  sold  at  twelve  piastres  the  oka 
(twenty  cents  a  pound),  and  the  famished  wolves,  descend- 
ing from  the  hills,  devoured  people  almost  at  the  gates  of 
the  city.  In  Smyrna,  Beyrout,  and  Alexandria,  the  Winter 
was  equally  severe,  while  in  Odessa  it  was  mild  and  agreea- 
ble, and  in  St.  Petersburg  there  was  scarcely  snow  enough 
for  sleighing.  All  Northern  Europe  enjoyed  a  Winter  as 
remarkable  for  warmth  as  that  of  the  South  for  its  cold. 
The  line  of  division  seemed  to  be  about  the  parallel  of  lati- 
tude 45°.  Whether  this  singular  climatic  phenomenon 
extended  further  eastward,  into  Asia,  I  was  not  able  to  ascer- 
tain. I  was  actually  less  sensitive  to  the  cold  in  Lapland, 
during  the  previous  winter,  with  the  mercury  frozen, 
than  in  Attica,  within  the  belt  of  semi-tropical  productions 
It  would  be  an  interesting  task  for  some  one  to  collect  and 
compare  the  meteorological  records  of  that  Winter,  with  a 
view  of  ascertaining  the  causes  of  these  singular  fluctua 
;ions  of  temperature. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

A     GREEK       BAPTISM 

DUBINQ  wf  residence  in  Athens,  I  neglected  no  oppor- 
tunities of  witnessing  the  ceremonials  of  the  Greek  Church, 
especially  those  which  are  associated  with  the  domestic  life 
of  the  people.  In  the  East,  the  sacraments  of  the  Church 
have  still  their  ancient  significance.  The  people  have  made 
little  or  no  spiritual  progress  in  a  thousand  years,  and 
many  forms,  which,  elsewhere,  are  retained  by  the  force  of 
habit — their  original  meaning  having  long  since  been  lost 
sight  of — are  still  imbued  with  vital  principle.  They  have, 
therefore,  a  special  interest,  as  illustrations  of  the  character 
ud  peculiar  phases  of  the  popular  belief. 

The  Rev.  John  H.  Hill — whose  missionary  labors  in 
Greece,  during  the  last  thirty  years,  have  made  his  name 
§o  well  known  to  the  Christian  world — befriended  me  in 
every  possible  way,  and  I  was  indebted  to  him  for  the 
means  of  observing  some  features  of  Grecian  life,  not  gene- 
rally accessible  to  the  curious  traveller.  So  when,  one 
wrindy  morning  in  January,  I  received  a  note  from  him, 


A    GKEEK    BAPTISM.  55 

inviting  us  to  attend  the  baptism  of  a  child  in  a  Greek 
family,  I  cast  aside  Grote,  my  Romaic  grammar,  and  the 
unfinished  letters  for  home,  and  set  out  for  the  Mission 
School.  ^Eolus  street,  down  which  we  walked,  deserved 
its  name.  Icy  blasts  blew  from  the  heights  of  Parnes  and 
filled  the  city  with  clouds  of  dust.  I  should  like  to  know 
whether  Socrates  and  Alcibiades  walked,  bare-legged  and 
bareheaded,  wrapped  only  in  the  graceful  folds  of  the 
chlamys,  in  such  weather.  The  winter-wind  of  Athens 
bites  through  the  thickest  overcoat ;  and  you  look  at  the 
naked  figures  on  the  temple-friezes  with  a  shudder.  Those 
noble  youths  in  the  Panathenaic  procession  of  the  Parthenon, 
wh(x  bestride  their  broad-necked  Thessalian  horses,  are  very 
fine  to  behold ;  but  give  me  pantaloons  and  thick  stockings, 
rather  than  such  unprotected  anatomy. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill  accompanied  us  to  the  residence  of  the 
happy  parents,  which  was  in  the  older  part  of  the  city,  near 
the  Temple  of  the  Winds,  and  just  under  the  Acropolis. 
The  mother  was  a  former  pupil  of  the  Mission  School.  She 
and  a  younger  sister  had  been  left  orphans  at  an  early  age, 
and  were  taken  and  educated  by  Mrs.  Hill.  They  inherited 
some  property,  which  was  in  the  charge  of  an  uncle,  who 
had  succeeded  in  making  away  with  the  greater  part  of  if^ 
leaving  the  girls  destitute.  About  a  year  and  a  half  pre» 
vious,  a  rich  Athenian  bachelor,  of  good  character,  applied 
to  Mr.  Hill  for  a  wife,  desiring  to  marry  a  girl  who  had 
been  educated  in  his  house.  The  elder  of  the  sisteri 
attracted  him  by  her  intelligence  and  her  skill  as  a  house- 
keeper, though  she  was  far  from  beautiful,  being  deeply 
pitted  with  the  small-pox.  The  result  was  that  he  married 


56  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

her,  took  her  sister  also  to  live  with  him,  and,  through  law 
suits  which  he  instituted,  recovered  nearly  all  the  property, 
out  of  which  the  two  had  been  defrauded.  This  was  a 
pleasant  history  in  a  world,  and  particularly  in  a  laud, 
where  justice  is  not  the  rule;  and  we  were  glad  of  the 
chance  to  be  present  at  the  baptism  of  the  first  child. 

The  parents  received  us  at  the  door.  We  were  kindly 
welcomed,  as  friends  of  Mr.  Hill,  and  ushered  into  a  room 
where  the  other  guests — all  Greeks,  and  some  thirty  or 
forty  in  number — were  already  assembled.  It  was  an 
Athenian  room,  without  stove  or  fire-place,  and  warmed 
only  with  a  brazier  of  coals.  I  therefore  retained  my  over- 
coat, and  found  it  still  cold  enough.  Everything  was  in 
readiness  for  the  ceremony,  and  the  family  had  evidently 
been  waiting  for  our  arrival. 

The  priest,  a  tall,  vigorous  Macedonian — a  married  man, 
who  had  come  to  Athens  to  educate  his  sons — and  the  dea- 
con, a  very  handsome  young  fellow,  with  dark  olive  com- 
plexion, and  large  languishing  eyes,  now  prepared  them- 
selves by  putting  long  embroidered  collars  over  their 
gowns.  They  then  made  an  altar  of  the  chest  of  drawers, 
by  placing  upon  it  a  picture  of  the  Virgin,  with  lighted 
tapers  on  either  side.  Then  a  small  table  was  brought  into 
the  centre  of  the  room,  as  a  pedestal  for  a  tall,  tri-forked 
wax-caudle,  representing  the  Trinity.  A  large  brazen  urn 
(the  baptismal  font)  was  next  carried  in,  the  priest's  son,  a 
boy  of  twelve,  put  coals  and  incense  into  the  censer — and 
the  ceremony  began.  The  godfather,  who  was  a  venera- 
ble old  gentleman,  took  his  station  in  front  of  the  font. 
Beside  him  stood  the  nurse,  holding  the  babe,  a  lively  bof 


A    GREEK   BAPTISM.  5? 

of  six  weeks  old.  Neither  of  the  parents  is  allowed  to  b€ 
present  during  the  ceremony. 

After  some  preliminary  chants  and  crossings— in  the 
latter  of  which  the  whole  company  joined — the  priest  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  three  times  over  the  infant,  blowing 
in  its  face  each  time.  The  object  of  this  was  to  exorcise 
and  banish  from  its  body  the  evil  spirits,  which  are  sup- 
posed to  be  in  possession  of  it  up  to  the  moment  of  baptism. 
The  godfather  then  took  it  in  his  arms,  and  the  Nicene 
Creed  was  thrice  repeated — once  by  the  deacon,  once  by 
the  priest's  son,  and  once  by  the  godfather.  A  short  liturgy 
followed ;  after  which,  the  latter  pronounced  the  child's 
name — "  Apostolos" — which  he  had  himself  chosen.  It  is 
very  important  that  the  name  should  be  mentioned  to  no 
one,  not  even  the  parents,  until  the  moment  of  baptism :  it 
must  then  be  spoken  for  the  first  time. 

The  position  of  godfather,  in  Greece,  also  carries  with  it 
a  great  responsibility.  In  the  two  Protestant  sects  which 
still  retain  this  beautiful  custom,  it  is  hardly  more  than  a 
form,  complimentary  to  the  person  who  receives  the  office, 
but  no  longer  carrying  with  it  any  real  obligation.  Among 
the  Greeks,  however,  it  is  a  relation  to  which  belong  legally 
acknowledged  rights  and  duties,  still  further  protected  by 
all  the  sanction  which  the  Church  can  confer.  The  god 
father  has  not  only  the  privilege  of  paying  the  baptisma 
expenses,  and  presenting  the  accustomed  mug  and  spoon, 
but  he  stands  thenceforth  in  a  spiritual  relationship  to  the 
family,  which  has  all  the  force  of  a  connexion  by  blood. 
For  instance,  he  is  not  permitted  to  marry  into  the  family 
within  the  limits  of  consanguinity  prohibited  bytJie  Churct 


58  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

— which  extend  as  far  as  the  ninth  degree,  whatever  that 
may  be.  He  also  watches  over  the  child  with  paternal  care, 
and  in  certain  cases,  his  authority  transcends  even  that  of 
the  parents. 

The  priest  and  deacon  put  on  embroidered  stoles  (rather 
Uie  worse  for  wear),  and  the  former  rolled  up  his  sleeves. 
Basins  of  hot  and  cold  water  were  poured  into  the  font,  and 
stirred  together  until  a  proper  temperature  was  obtained. 
The  water  was  then  consecrated  by  holding  the  Bible  over  it, 
blowing  upon  it  to  expel  the  demons,  dividing  it  with  the 
hand  in  the  form  of  a  cross  nine  tunes  (three  apiece  for  each 
person  of  the  Trinity),  and  various  other  mystical  ceremonies, 
accompanied  with  nasal  chanting.  The  censer — now  puffing 
a  thick  cloud  of  incense,  was  swung  toward  the  Virgin,  then 
toward  us,  and  then  the  other  guests  in  succession — each  one 
acknowledging  the  compliment  by  an  inclination  of  the  head. 

A  bottle  of  oil  was  next  produced,  and  underwent  the 
same  process  of  consecration  as  the  water.  The  priest  first 
poured  some  of  it  three  times  into  the  font,  hi  the  form  of 
a  cross,  and  then  filled  the  godfather's  hollow  hand,  which 
was  extended  to  receive  it.  The  infant,  having  been, 
meanwhile,  laid  upon  the  floor  and  stripped,  was  taken  up 
like  a  poor,  unconscious,  wriggling  worm  as  it  was,  and 
anointed  by  the  priest  upon  the  forehead,  breast,  elbows, 
knees,  palms  of  the  hands,  and  soles  of  the  feet.  Each 
lubrication  was  accompanied  by  an  appropriate  blessing, 
until  every  important  part  of  the  body  had  been  redeemed 
from  the  evil  powers.  The  godfather  then  used  the  child 
as  a  towel,  wiping  his  oily  hands  upon  it,  after  which  the 
priest  placed  it  in  the  font. 


A   GKEEK   BAPTISM.         ,  59 

The  little  fellow  had  been  yelling  lustily  up  to  this  time, 
but  the  bath  soothed  and  quieted  him.  With  one  hand  the 
priest  poured  water  plentifully  upon  his  head,  then  lifted 
him  out  and  dipped  him  a  second  time.  But  instead  of 
effusion  it  was  this  time  complete  immersion.  Placing  his 
hand  over  the  child's  mouth  and  nose,  he  plunged  it  com- 
pletely under,  three  times  in  sucession.  The  Greek  Chris- 
tians skilfully  avoid  the  vexed  question  of  "sprinkling  or 
immersion,"  on  which  so  much  breath  has  been  vainly 
spent,  by  combining  both  methods.  If  a  child  three  times 
sprinkled  and  three  times  dipped,  is  not  sufficiently  baptized, 
the  ordinance  had  better  be  set  aside. 

The  screaming  and  half-strangled  babe  was  laid  on  a 
warm  cloth ;  and  while  the  nurse  dried  the  body,  the  priest 
cut  four  bits  of  hair  from  the  top  of  his  head  (in  the  form 
of  a  cross,  of  course),  and  threw  them  into  the  font.  A 
gaudy  dress  of  blue  and  white,  with  a  lace  cap — the  god- 
father's gift — was  then  produced,  and  the  priest  proceeded 
to  clothe  the  child.  It  was  an  act  of  great  solemnity, 
accompanied  by  a  short  service,  wherein  each  article 
assumed  a  spiritual  significance.  Thus :  "  I  endow  thee 
with  the  coat  of  righteousness,"  and  on  went  the  coat ; 
"  I  crown  thee  with  the  cap  of  grace,"  and  he  put  it  on ; 
"  I  clothe  thee  with  the  shirt  of  faith,"  etc.  This  termi- 
nated the  ceremony,  so  far  as  the  little  Christian  was  con- 
cerned. He  was  now  quiet  enough ;  and  in  a  few  minute? 
afterwards,  I  saw  him  sleeping  the  sleep  of  peace  in  the 
next  room. 

A  hymn  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  interspersed  with 
Vhe  reading  of  chapters  from  the  Bible,  was  still  necessary, 


60  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

and  lasted  some  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  longer  In  ordei 
Lo  save  time,  the  priest  commenced  washing  his  hands  in 
the  baptismal  font,  with  a  huge  piece  of  brown  soap, 
chanting  lustily  all  the  while.  He  was  so  little  embarrassed 
by  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  that  he  cried  out :  '"  Oh, 
you  fool !"  in  the  middle  of  a  prayer,  to  the  boy  who 
offered  him  a  towel.  This  mixture  of  sacred  and  profane 
things  is  not  unusual  in  the  convenient  Christianity  of  the 
East.  I  once  heard  something  very  similar  to  it  on  board 
an  ocean  steamer,  during  the  prevalence  of  the  cholera. 
The  captain,  who  officiated  at  the  burial  of  a  poor  fireman, 
read  the  service  with  one  eye,  while  he  looked  after  the 
men  with  the  other,  and  the  sacred  text  was  interpolated 
with  his  orders  and  remarks,  in  this  wise :  "  And  now 
(Steady  there !)  we  commit  the  body  of  our  deceased  ship- 
mate to  the  deep.  (Let  go !)  Our  Father,  who  art  in 
Heaven  (Lubberly  done  !),  hallowed  be  Thy  name,"  etc. 

At  last  the  ceremonies  were  over,  much  to  our  satisfac- 
tion— for  we  began  to  be  heartily  tired.  The  font  was 
carried  out,  after  the  godfather  had  washed  his  hands  in 
it;  the  bureau,  the  image  of  the  Virgin  being  removed, 
became  a  bureau  again ;  the  Trinitarian  candle  was  extin- 
guished, and  the  old  Bibles,  stoles,  and  collars  tied  up  in  a 
sheet.  The  parents  were  now  allowed  to  enter  the  room, 
and  receive  the  congratulations  of  the  guests.  They 
looked  proud  and  happy,  with  the  knowledge  that  their 
little  Apostolos  was  cleansed  of  the  hereditary  taint  of  sin, 
and  rescued  from  the  power  of  the  devil.  The  father 
produced  a  dish  containing  a  quantity  of  the  smallest 
Greek  silver  coins,  each  pierced  and  tied  with  a  bit  of  blue 


A   GREEK.   BAPTISM.  61 

ribbon,  and  presented  one  to  each  guest,  as  a  souvenir  of 
the  occasion.  Then  followed  the  usual  course  of  refresh 
ments — first,  a  jar  of  jelly,  accompanied  with  glasses  of 
water;  then,  cakes  and  almond-milk.  In  the  old  families, 
the  jelly  is  often  served  with  a  single  spoon,  which  each 
guest  is  obliged  to  use  in  turn — rather  an  ordeal  to  a 
stranger,  until  he  becomes  accustomed  to  it.  We,  how- 
ever, were  furnished  with  separate  spoons  and  glasses, 
much  to  our  satisfaction. 

By  this  time  the  heavy  canopy  which  stretched  from 
Hymettus  across  to  Parnes,  spanning  the  plain  of  Attica, 
had  broken  into  a  storm  of  mingled  snow  and  ram,  and  the 
solitary  palm  beside  the  Temple  of  the  Winds  wrestled  de- 
spairingly with  the  wintry  gusts.  Snow  upon  palm-trees 
makes  the  same  impression  upon  you  as  gray  hair  upon  the 
head  of  a  child.  We  returned  home  in  a  carriage,  piled 
the  roots  of  olives,  and  the  shaggy,  faun-like  arms  of  grape- 
vines upon  our  expensive  fire,  and  sat  dcwn  again  to  Grote, 
Leake,  Mure,  and  Modern  Greek. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  COURT  OF  KING  OTHO. 

THE  Grecian  Court,  though  rigidly  hedged  about  with  the 
stiffest  German  etiquette,  is  nevertheless  easily  accessible 
to  strangers.  I  therefore  asked  for  a  presentation,  in  order 
that  I  might  attend  the  Winter  balls  at  the  Palace,  which 
furnish  much  the  best  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Greeks  of 
the  present  day.  The  preliminary  formalities  were  easily 
arranged.  Our  Consul,  the  Rev.  Dr.  King,  called  on  the 
Grand  Marshal  of  the  Palace,  Notaras,  one  morning,  and 
the  same  afternoon  I  received  an  invitation  to  the  New 
Year's  ball. 

As,  according  to  the  etiquette  of  larger  Courts,  which  is 
strictly  copied  in  this  little  one,  a  Consul  cannot  present 
strangers,  this  duty  is  performed  by  the  Grand  Marshal, 
whom,  therefore,  it  was  necessary  that  I  should  previously 
know.  A  company  of  Americans,  some  four  or  five  years 
ago,  made  themselves  ridiculous,  by  asking  for  a  presenta- 
tion, and  then  staying  away  at  the  appointed  hour,  on  the 
childish  plea  that  this  regulation  was  intended  as  a  nationnj 


THE   COURT   OF  KING   OTHO.  63 

insult.  Dr.  King  was  kind  enough  to  accompany  me  tc 
the  Palace,  where  we  were  ushered  into  the  Grand 
Marshal's  chamber — a  large,  bare  room,  with  a  table,  sofa, 
and  half-a-dozen  chairs,  scarcely  warmed  by  a  fire  of  olive- 
oots.  Notaras  is  a  large,  heavy  man,  of  about  sixty,  with 
prominent  eyes,  a  broad  face,  and  thick  lips.  He  wore  the 
fustanella,  and  a  jacket  covered  with  silver  embroideiy. 
Singularly  enough,  for  a  person  holding  his  office,  he  does 
not  understand  any  language  but  Greek.  He  explained  to 
me,  through  the  medium  of  Dr.  King,  what  was  necessi  ry 
for  me  to  do.  "  Come  to  the  Palace,''  said  he,  "  go  whore 
you  see  the  others  go,  and  when  the  King  and  Queen  come 
in,  get  into  the  circle  around  them.  Then,  when  the  time 
for  presentation  arrives,  I  will  do  so,  (making  a  sign  with 
liis  hand),  and  you  will  step  forward."  All  this  was  clear 
and  satisfactory,  and  we  departed. 

Dr.  King  had  stated  in  his  note  that  I  had  travelled 
extensively  and  was  the  author  of  some  books.  It  was 
intimated  by  the  Marshal  that  he  would  do  well  to  send  a 
list  of  the  same  to  the  Palace.  At  his  request,  therefore,  I 
furnished  such  a  list,  in  French,  the  purpose  of  which  I 
ascertained  when  the  time  for  presentation  arrived.  I  could 
not  but  wonder  how  much  of  the  reputation  which  an 
author  fancies  he  has  achieved  is  made  up  in  this  way 
You  meet  with  Dr.  Pitkins  at  a  party,  on  a  steamboat,  or 
anywhere  else.  Somebody  whispers  to  you:  "He  is  the 
author  of  a  work  on  the  dramatic  poetry  of  the  Tartars." 
By-aud-by  you  are  introduced  to  liim  :  you  start  a  literary 
topic,  and  soon  take  occasion  to  say,  "  Your  Tartar  studies, 
Dr.  Pitkins,  make  you  an  authority  on  the  iubject."  Of 


64  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND    RJSSIA. 

course,  the  Dr.  is  delighted  to  find  that  his  fame  has  gone 
before  him,  and,  if  he  accepts  your  invitation  to  call  upon 
you,  will  find  a  copy  of  his  work,  three  pages  of  which  you 
have  read,  conspicuously  displayed  upon  your  parlor-table. 
Now,  I  was  perfectly  aware  that  King  Otho  knew  no  more 
of  me  or  my  books  than  of  the  Cherokee  language,  and  when 
he  said,  "  We  have  heard  of  you  as  a  great  traveller,"  etc., 
was  neither  surprised  nor  flattered,  and  was  polite  enougl 
not  to  suggest  whence  his  information  had  been  derived. 

As  the  ordinary  full  dress  of  European  society  is  suf- 
ficient for  admittance  into  the  Palace,  there  was  no  further 
difficulty.  The  company  were  directed  to  assemble  at  a 
quarter  before  nine,  but  as  all  Athens  was  invited,  and  the 
city  furnished  but  one  carriage  to  every  ten  guests,  I  was 
obliged  to  go  early,  so  that  the  same  vehicle  might  be  used 
to  carry  others.  It  was  one  of  the  coldest  and  windiest 
nights  of  the  Winter,  and,  when  the  north  wind  blows, 
Attica  is  as  dreary  as  Lapland.  The  vestibule  of  the 
Palace  is  too  depressed  to  answer  even  the  promise  of  ite 
mediocre  exterior,  and  the  staircase,  narrow,  and  with 
grades  of  inconvenient  height — a  single  one  being  too 
little,  and  two  taken  together  too  much  for  the  foot — is  so 
clumsy,  that  one  suspects  that  the  original  plans  of  the 
architect,  who  was  no  less  than  Leo  von  Klenze,  cannot 
have  been  carried  out.  It  is  pitiful  to  see  bad  taste 
embodied  in  Pentelican  marble. 

I  was  therefore  surprised  and  delighted  on  entering  the 
ball-rooms,  which  are  large,  nobly  planned  and  decorated 
with  excellent  taste.  I  have  not  seen,  in  any  of  the  palaces 
of  Europe — not  even  in  the  famous  Neue  Re&idenz,  \s 


THE   COUKT   OF  KING   OTHO.  65 

Munich — apartments  at  the  same  time  so  imposing  and  so 
cheerful  as  these.  There  are  three  in  all,  connected  by 
lofty  Ionic  doorways  of  white  marble,  the  fillets  and 
volutes  of  the  capitals  relieved  by  gilding.  The  length 
and  breadth  of  the  halls  is  proportionate  to  their  height, 
which  is  full  sixty  feet.  The  walls  are  of  scagliola,  with 
an  ornamental  frieze  at  half  their  height,  above  which  they 
are  painted  in  the  Pompeiian  style.  Chromatic  decoration 
is  also  introduced  in  the  sunken  panel-work  of  the  ceiling, 
the  predominant  colors  being  red  and  dead-golden.  The 
general  effect  is  wonderfully  rich  and  harmonious,  without 
being  in  the  least  glaring.  Add  to  this  the  immense  bronze 
chandeliers  and  candelabra,  which  pour  a  flood  of  soft  light 
upon  the  walls  and  inlaid  floors,  and  you  have  a  picture  of 
a  festive  hall,  the  equal  of  which  can  scarcely  be  found 
outside  of  St.  Petersburg.  The  Greeks  are  proud  of  it ; 
but  I  could  not  keep  back  the  reflection,  What  avails  this 
single  flash  of  imperial  splendor,  in  a  land  which  has  not  a 
single  road,  where  there  is  no  permanent  security  for  life 
and  property,  and  whose  treasury  is  hopelessly  bankrupt  ? 
There  were  not  more  than  a  dozen  guests  when  I  arrived, 
and  their  scattered  figures  were  quite  lost  in  the  vast,  bril- 
liant space,  so  that  I  had  a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  compara- 
tive solitude,  which  is  a  thing  to  be  enjoyed  in  such  places. 
One  is  thus  familiarized  to  the  unaccustomed  pomp,  is 
toned  up  to  it  (so  to  speak),  and  ere  long  finds  himself 
comfortably  at  home  and  self-possessed.  Presently,  how 
ever,  a  full  stream  poured  into  the  main  hall — a  tide  of 
flashing,  glittering,  picturesque  life,  a  mingling  of  the 
heroic  and  the  common-place,  of  the  serai-barbaric  and  th« 


8fl  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE  AND   RUSSIA. 

super-civilized,  which  is  the  most  striking  feature  of 
Grecian  society,  and  of  course  is  exhibited  in  the  broadest 
light  at  a  Court  Ball.  There  were  Greeks  in  the  simple 
national  costume,  a  sober-colored  jacket  and  leggings,  of 
cloth  or  velvet,  embroidered  with  silk,  red  fez,  and  white 
fustanella ;  gaudy  palikars,  in  the  same  dress,  but  of  crim- 
son, blazing  with  gold ;  diplomatic  gentlemen,  in  the  uni- 
forms of  their  various  courts,  glaring  but  inelegant,  witli 
the  exception  of  the  English  and  French ;  ministers  with 
blue  ribbons  and  a  multitude  of  orders ;  military  and  naval 
officers,  Greek,  English,  and  French ;  old  captains  of  the 
war  of  independence,  with  wild  hair  streaming  down  their 
backs;  beautiful  Greek  girls,  national  upwards  from  the 
waist,  and  French  downwards ;  Hydriote  and  Spetziote 
women  with  their  heads  bound  up  in  spangled  handker- 
chiefs ;  islanders  in  their  hideous  dark-blue  or  green  baggy 
trowsers ;  fine  European  ladies  in  the  latest  Parisian  toilet . 
and  lastly,  some  individuals,  like  myself,  in  the  ordinary 
black  and  white,  who  all  look  as  if  they  had  just  dropped 
the  napkins  from  their  arms. 

I  saw  at  once  that  modern  conventionalities  wo'Ud  not 
be  able  to  frigify  such  a  mass  as  was  here  thrown  together, 
and  that  consequently,  the  ball  would  be  more  interestina 
and  enjoyable  than  those  of  most  Courts.  The  old  palikar* 
brought  a  refreshing  mountain  air  with  them.  The 
walked  the  inlaid  floors  and  lounged  on  the  damask  divans 
in  as  careless  and  unconstrained  a  way  as  if  these  had  been 
rock  and  heather.  Even  the  Grand  Marshal,  who  now 
made  his  apjiraiance  in  a  jacket  so  covered  with  embroid 
ery  that  he  resembled  a  golden  armadillo,  failed  to  person 


THE     COURT     OF     KIN'G     OTHO.  67 

ify  the  idea  of  rigid  ceremony.  I  espied  an  acquaintance 
at  la>t.  a  gentleman  attached  tu  tlie  Royal  >ervice.  who 
began  to  point  out  a  t'c\v  of  the  noted  persons  piv-ent. 
"Do  you  >ee  those  t\vo  talking  yonder,"  he  asked.  "The 
tall  one.  in  blue  uniform,  is  the  son  of  Marco  Boz/aris.  at 
present  one  of  the  King's  adjutants."  He  wa.-  a  graceful. 
arell-made,  strikingly  handsome  man  of  forty-five,  wit? 
dark  hair  and  moustache,  large  dark  eyes,  and  features  in 
whose  regularly  and  clearly  cut  lines  I  fancied  there  was 
something  of  the  old  Hellenic  type.  "  The  other,"  he  con 
tinned,  "  is  the  Prime  Minister,  Miaulis,  son  of  the  cele- 
brated Hydriote  admiral."  Two  such  names  to  begin  with! 
Miaulis  is  a  little  man,  with  straight  hair,  prematurely 
gray,  clear,  intelligent  brown  eyes,  a  prominent  nose,  and 
pale  olive  complexion.  "Do  you  see  the  other  small  man 
yondei  *r"'  asked  my  cicerone.  "What,  the  one  with  a 
little,  sloping  head,  and  monstrous  nose,  who  looks  so 
much  like  a  monkey  ?"  "  Yes,"  said  he  ;  "  that  is  the  son 
of  Colocotronis,  and,  in  spite  of  his  looks,  he  is  not  deficient 
in  cunning  and  natural  ability." 

By  this  time,  at  least  six  or  seven  hundred  persons  were 
assembled,  and  the  hall  was  crowded.     The  masses  of  rich 
color  and  the  gleam  of  gold  and  jewels  harmonized  natu- 
ally  with  the  painted  walls,  which  formed  a  proper  frame 
o  this  gay,  tumultuous  picture.     About  nine  o'clock,  there 
was  a  stir  in  the  halls  beyond  ;  the  crowd  parted,  and  the 
King  and  Queen,  accompanied  }>y  the  officers  of  the  court 
and  the  ladies  of  honor,  walked  into  the  centre  of  the  ball- 
room.    The  guests  fell  back,  the  foreign  ministers  and  high 
officers  of  state  pressed  forwards,  and  a  highly  dignified 


68  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

circle  of  some  size  was  thus  formed.  The  King  looked 
remarkably  well  in  his  Greek  dress  of  blue  and  silver  ;  in 
fact-  I  saw  no  other  costume  so  rich  and  tasteful  as  his. 
The  Queen  wore  a  Parisian  dress,  white  tulle  over  white 
satin,  trimmed  with  roses,  a  coronet  of  pearls,  a  superb 
diamond  necklace,  and  a  crinoline  of  extravagant  diametor. 
She  turned  towards  the  ladies,  who,  seated  in  three  rows, 
occupied  one  side  of  the  ball-room,  while  the  King 
addressed  himself  first  to  Sir  Thomas  Wyse,  and  afterward 
to  the  other  foreign  ministers  in  succession.  After  he  had 
gone  around  the  circle,  he  went  off  to  the  ladies,  and  the 
Queen,  who  had  meanwhile  formed  the  centre  of  a  large 
periphery  of  crinolines,  came  forward  and  saluted  the 
ambassadors.  I  was  standing  beside  some  English  naval 
officers,  who  were  waiting  for  presentation,  and  I  believe 
the  same  reflection  suggested  itself  to  all  of  us — that  there 
can  be  no  greater  bore  than  to  be  obliged  to  address  some 
mechanical  remarks  to  scores  of  persons  in  succession.  Tc 
make  a  witty,  or  even  a  sensible  remark,  to  every  one  of 
such  a  number,  requires  either  immense  practice  or  an 
astonishing  flexibility  of  intellect.  The  wonder  is,  that  an 
hereditary  monarch,  educated  in  the  life  of  a  court,  should 
retain  any  portion  of  his  natural  sense.  There  is  nothing 
so  paralysing  to  the  mind  as  the  being  obliged  to  talk  con- 
tinually for  the  mere  sake  of  saying  something. 

The  English  officers  were  at  last  summoned  by  Sir  Thomas 
Wyse,  who  stood  by  as  interpreter,  neither  of  them  know- 
ing any  Tanguage  but  their  own.  The  conversation  did 
not  last  long,  and,  as  the  officers  informed  me,  consisted 
of  inquiries  as  to  what  part  of  England  they  came  from,  and 


THE   COUBT   OF  KING    OTHO.  69 

aow  they  liked  Greece.  The  Turkish  Minister  presented 
an  Effendi,  the  Prus>ian  Minister  a  naval  officer,  and,  the 
golden  armadillo  then  making  the  preconcerted  signal,  I 
stepped  forward  out  of  the  ring.  The  Marshal  had  pro- 
bably stated  that  I  spoke  German,  as  the  King  at  once 
addressed  me  in  that  language.  He  is  quite  near-sighted, 
and  thrust  his  head  forward  close  to  my  face,  as  he  spoke. 
He  is  of  medium  height,  forty-two  yeai-s  old,  and  has  some 
general  resemblance  to  Jules  Benedict,  the  composer.  His 
head  is  bald  on  the  crown,  but  he  wears  a  large  brown 
moustache,  which  almost  conceals  his  upper  lip.  His  nose 
is  prominent,  his  chin  pointed,  and  his  large,  hazel  eyes 
rather  deeply  set.  The  prominent  expression  of  his  face  is 
amiability,  mixed  with  a  certain  degree  of  irresolution. 
His  complexion  is  pale,  owing  to  long-continued  ill-health, 
and  he  has  an  air  of  weariness  and  sadness  when  his  features 
are  in  repose.  The  throne  of  Hellas  is  evidently  not  an 
easy-chair.  As  a  young  man,  he  must  have  been  hand- 
some. 

He  commenced  with  a  compliment,  which — not  knowing 
exactly  how  to  reply  to  it — I  acknowledged  with  a  bow 
As  he  seemed  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  say  next,  I  took 
the  liberty  of  making  a  remark,  although  this  was  rather  au 
infringement  of  court  etiquette.  The  conversation  once 
started,  he  spoke  very  fluently  and  sensibly,  questioning  me 
particularly  about  the  influence  of  climate,  and  the  method 
I  took  in  order  to  acquire  different  languages.  He  detained 
ne  some  eight  or  ten  minutes,  after  which  I  withdrew  into 
the  ciicle,  to  await  the  Queen's  pleasure.  Presently  she 
sailed  along,  sparkling  with  her  diamonds  and  roses,  anr 


70  TRAVEIS   IN   GREECE    AND    RUSSIA 

the  presentations  were  repeated  to  her,  in  the  same  order. 
When  my  turn  came,  she  addressed  me  in  German,  in 
almost  the  same  words  as  the  King.  Her  remarks 
related  principally  to  the  beauty  of  Greece,  and  to  the 
weather,  which  gave  her  occasion  to  state  that  during  th 
twenty-one  years  of  her  residence  in  Athens,  she  had 
never  known  so  cold  a  winter.  She  is  near  forty  years 
of  age,  rather  under  the  medium  height,  and  inclining  to 
corpulency.  She  is  said  to  have  been  quite  handsome,  even 
so  late  as  five  years  ago,  but  retains  very  little  beauty  now 
except  such  as  belongs  to  robust  health.  Her  face  is  large 
and  heavy,  her  mouth  long,  thin  and  hard,  and  her  eyes,  of 
that  fine  clear  gray  which  is  so  beautiful  in  a  gentle  fare. 
express  a  coldly  gracious  condescension.  She  evidently 
never  forgets  that  she  is  a  Queen.  Her  movements  and 
manners  are  certainly  remarkably  graceful  and  self-pos- 
sessed, and  she  is  withal  a  woman  of  will,  energy,  and  ambi- 
tion. I  watched  the  two  narrowly  during  a  part  of  the 
evening,  and  a  hundred  indescribable  little  traits  showed  me 
that  the  amiability  and  kindness  are  all  on  the  King's  side, 
the  pride,  ambition,  and  energy  on  the  Queen's.  Neither 
one  is  the  ruler  required  by  Greece. 

The  ball  opened  with  a  somewhat  stiff  promenade  around 
the  room,  in  which  Sir  Thoma<  Wy>e  led  off  with  the 
Queen,  the  King  following  with  the  lady  of  one  of  the 
Ministers,  and  after  them  the  other  Ambassadors  and  high 
Government  officials,  each  changing  his  partner  at  every 
completion  of  the  circle.  The  Mistress  of  Ceremonies 
Baroness  von  Pluskow,  also  figured  in  this  initiatory  pro 
session.  It  was  odd  enough  to  see,  among  the  gauzy 


THE   COUKT    OF   KING    OTHO.  71 

expansive  phenomena  of  modern  female  cc«tume,  the  figure 
of  a  Hydriote  lady,  in  her  island  dress — an  embroidered 
handkerchief  tied  over  the  head  and  hanging  upon  the 
shoulders,  a  dark,  close-fitting  vest,  without  ornament,  and 
a  straight,  narrow  skirt,  falling  directly  from  the  hips  to  the 
ankles.  At  first  glance,  one  half  suspected  that  a  kitchen- 
maid  had  slipped  into  the  ball-room,  resolved  to  have  a 
little  dancing  before  the  supper-hour  came.  In  itself,  the 
costume  is  very  picturesque  and  becoming,  but  the  rocks 
of  Hydra  suit  it  better  than  these  Pompeiian  frescoes.  One 
of  the  Queen's  maids  of  honor  belongs  to  a  noted  Spetziote 
family,  and  wore  the  same  costume;  but  her  handkerchief 
was  of  yellow  silk,  richly  embroidered  with  gold,  and  the 
skirt  of  her  dress,  of  somewhat  more  ample  dimensions,  wa? 
of  the  same  material.  She  was  young  and  handsome,  with 
a  remarkably  straight,  classical  profile,  and  was  to  me  one 
of  the  most  striking  figures  in  the  company. 

The  ball  having  now  been  formally  opened,  cotillions 
commenced,  succeeded  by  waltzes  and  mazourkas,  but  no 
polkas.  Nearly  all  the  Greek  ladies  danced,  and  most  of 
the  young  officers,  all  with  much  elegance  and  correctness, 
but  the  only  fustanella  to  be  seen  on  the  floor  was  the 
King's.  A  good  many  of  the  young  palikars  looked  on 
curiously:  the  old  captains  withdrew,  along  with  the  Sena- 
tors, Deputies,  and  many  officers  and  ministers,  to  the 
central  hall,  which  was  well  studded  with  card  tables.  The 
third  hall  had  a  comfortable  divan  around  its  walls,  whereon 
groups,  principally  of  old  men,  gathered  to  talk  scandal  or 
politics,  or  to  get  a  good  chance  at  the  refreshments  as  they 
same  in  through  the  further  doors.  The  space  was  so 


72  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

ample  that  the  company,  large  as  it  was,  did  not  seem  in 
the  least  crowded. 

While  wandering  through  the  throng,  I  came  upon  Sii 
Richard  Church,  the  noble  old  Philhellene,  now  Com 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  Grecian  army.  He  kindly  took  me 
in  charge,  and  for  two  hours  thenceforth  sought  out  all 
the  distinguished  Greeks  who  were  present,  that  I  might 
see  and  speak  to  them.  In  this  way  I  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  brothers  Miaulis,  of  Colocotronis,  of  Psyllas, 
the  President  of  the  Senate,  of  the  sons  of  Admiral  Tom- 
bazi,  and  a  number  of  the  old  revolutionary  heroes.  The 
Minister  Miaulis  speaks  English  very  well.  He  made  par- 
ticular inquiries  concerning  the  latest  American  improve- 
ments in  dock-yards  and  floating  docks,  as  he  was  about 
refitting  the  navy-yard  at  Poros.  I  ventured  to  ask 
whether  he  thought  it  advisable  to  build  up  a  Greek 
navy,  seeing  that  the  country  cannot  possibly  maintain 
one  large  enough  for  even  defensive  operations.  "  The 
only  enemies  we  are  likely  to  meet,''  he  answered,  "are 
Turkey  and  Egypt,  and  in  either  case,  you  must  acknow- 
ledge, the  result  will  not  depend  on  the  number  of  vessels. 
The  Greeks  are  born  sailors,  but  the  Turks  never  can  be 
made  so.  We  ought  at  least  to  be  in  a  position  to  defend 
our  islands."  Even  in  this  case,  however,  the  main  reliance 
ol  Greece  ought,  like  our  own,  to  be  upon  her  mercantile 
oa\  y.  Her  commerce  has  grown  up  am  azingly,  and,  were 
it  not  for  the  miserable  neglect  of  everything  like  internal 
improvement,  her  forests  would  furnish  shipping  to  any 
extent  required  by  the  needs  or  the  enterprise  of  her  people, 

What  impressed  me  most,  perhaps,  in  this  survey  of 


THE   COURT   OF   KIXG   OTHO.  73 

Grecian  notabilities,  was  the  striking  contrast  which  I 
found  between  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution  and  some  of 
their  immediate  descendants,  and  the  later  generation  whicli 
lias  crept  into  power  since  Greece  became  free.  I  was 
glad  to  be  able  to  believe,  after  all,  that  the  corruption 
and  misrule  which  have  gone  so  far  to  turn  away  the  sym 
pathies  of  the  world  from  the  young  nation,  are  not  justly 
chargeable  to  the  former — that  honor  and  honesty  existed, 
and  still  exist,  among  the  Greeks.  One  may  be  deceived 
in  the  impression  created  by  a  single  individual,  but  hardly 
in  that  of  a  whole  class,  and  the  distinction  was  here  too 
broadly  marked  not  to  be  real.  It  wras  a  refreshing  thing 
to  turn  from  the  false,  sneaking,  plotting  faces  of  some  of 
the  present  hangers-on  of  the  Court,  to  the  brave,  deter- 
mined heads,  keen,  straightforward  glances,  and  native 
nobility  of  bearing  of  the  old  chieftains.  I  said  as  much 
to  Gen.  Church.  "  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  said  he,  "  and 
you  are  right.  These  are  good  and  true  men.  I  have 
known  some  of  them  for  thirty  years,  and  have  had  every 
opportunity  of  testing  their  characters."  This  evidence, 
coming  from  a  man  whom  to  see  is  to  trust,  should  be  e 
sufficient  answer  to  those  who  brand  all  Greeks  with  on 
weeping  sentence  of  condemnation. 

Among  others  to  whom  the  General  introduced  me  was 
an  old  Suliote  chief,  who,  having  lived  in  Corfu  some  years, 
spoke  English  very  well.  He  was  a  tall,  strongly-made 
man,  with  short,  gray  hair,  a  face  deeply  pitted  and  sun 
burnt,  and  eyes  of  splendid  clearness  and  steadiness.  We 
sat  down  together  and  conversed  about  the  Revolution. 
"  Did  you  know  Bozzaris  ?"  I  asked.  "  Certainly,"  said 


74  TRAVELS    IX   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

he,  "  wo  were  companions  in  arms,  fellow  Suliotes."  As 
General  Church  also  knew  Bozzaris  well,  I  inquired  whether 
he  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  capacity,  or  simply  an 
example  of  reckless  courage.  "  He  was  entirely  unedu 
cated,"  replied  the  General,  "  but  nevertheless  his  abilities 
\*  ure  certainly  above  the  average  of  men  of  his  class."  In 
front  of  us  stood  an  old  palikar  from  the  Morea,  with  his 
gray  hair  hanging  to  his  waist.  He  was  one  of  the  depu- 
tation sent  to  Munich  in  1832  to  accompany  the  young 
King  Otho  to  Greece.  As  he  stood  in  the  circle  of 
spectators,  looking  grimly  at  the  waltz  in  which  the  King 
took  part,  I  could  not  but  wonder  whether  he  contrasted 
Greece  then,  in  her  season  of  hope,  with  Greece  now, 
twenty-five  years  further  from  the  realization  of  that  hope. 
Perhaps  he  did  not  think  at  all. 

By  one  o'clock,  I  was  sufficiently  tired,  but  it  is  here 
considered  a  serious  violation  of  etiquette  to  leave  before 
three,  the  hour  when  their  Majesties  withdraw.  So  I  left 
the  ball-room,  and  wandering  about  the  long,  cold  corridors 
of  the  palace,  was  attracted  by  the  smell  of  smoke  to  a 
dark,  bare  room,  in  which  some  twenty  or  thirty  of  the 
Greek  guests  were  puffing  at  their  paper  cigars.  Two 
candles,  which  stood  upon  a  table,  were  almost  invisible 
through  the  thick,  blue  cloud.  The  table  was  covered 
with  stumps,  and  the  smokers,  seated  on  some  hard  chairs 
along  the  wall,  were  absorbed  and  silent.  I  lit  a  cigar  and 
so  smoked  away  another  half-hour,  when,  after  having 
walked  in  the  corridor  long  enough  to  air  my  clothes, 
I  returned  to  the  ball-room.  The  final  cotillion,  \\liicli 
lasts  about,  jin  hour,  had  commenced,  and  tire  Queen,  who 


THE   COURT   OF   KING    OTHO.  75 

is  passionately  fond  of  dancing,  now  had  an  opportunity  of 
gratifying  her  taste.  She  was  taken  out  every  set,  and  1 
believe  every  gentleman  on  the  floor  had  the  satisfaction 
of  dancing  with  her  in  turn.  The  Prussian  Minister, 

I3ai  ;>n  von  G ,  the  ugliest  person   in  the  room,  and 

wearing  the  ugliest  costume,  continually  hovered  around 
her,  and,  in  fact,  seemed  to  be  on  the  most  familiar  terms 
with  both  their  Majesties.  This  seemed  to  confirm  what 
I  had  previously  heard,  that,  since  England,  France  and 
Russia  have  mutually  decided  not  to  exercise  their  influence 
any  longer  in  controlling  the  affairs  of  Greece,  Prussia, 
seeing  the  coast  clear,  has  stepped  in,  for  what  reason  no 
one  can  imagine  (since  she  has  no  interest  whatever  in  the 
Grecian  question),  and  endeavors  to  fill  the  place  of 
counsellor. 

At  three  o'clock  the  dancing  ceased,  and  some  of  the 
guests  made  a  rush  for  their  overcoats,  while  others  has- 
tened to  get  a  bowl  of  the  bouillon  which  is  distributed 
at  the  close  of  the  ball.  Refreshments  had  been  frequently 
handed  around  in  the  course  of  the  evening — plentiful,  but 
cheap.  First,  tea ;  then  lemonade  and  almond-milk ;  then 
small  portions  of  ices,  with  little  sugared  cakes;  and  finally 
hot  rum-punch.  The  servants  were  mostly  in  Greek 
rostume,  though  a  few,  who  were  Germans,  wore  the 
Royal  Bavarian  livery.  I  returned  home  on  foot,  in  th« 
face  of  a  biting  wind,  which  blew  down  from  the  snowj 
summits  of  Pentelicus  and  Parnes. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

GREEK     FESTIVALS,     RELIGIOUS     AND     CIVIC. 

THE  festivals  of  the  Greek  Church  are  fully  as  numerous, 
if  not  even  more  so,  than  those  of  the  Latin.  About  every 
third  day  is  an  eorti,  or  holy-day  of  some  venerable  unwashed 
saint,  or  company  of  saints,  whose  memory  is  duly  honored 
by  a  general  loafing-spell  of  the  inhabitants.  The  greatest 
benefit  that  could  happen  to  Greece,  and  to  all  Southern 
Europe,  would  be  the  discanonization  of  nine-tenths  of  those 
holy  drones,  who  do  enough  harm  by  sanctifying  indolence, 
to  outweigh  a  thousand  times  the  good  they  may  have 
accomplished  during  their  lives.  God's  Sabbath  is  enough 
for  man's  needs,  and  both  St.  George,  the  Swindler,  and  St. 
Polycarp,  the  Martyr,  have  sufficient  honor  done  them  in 
the  way  of  chapels,  shrines,  candles  and  incense,  to  forego 
the  appropriation  of  certain  days,  on  which  no  one  thinks 
particularly  about  them.  Not  only  are  the  laborers  idle 
and  the  shops  generally  shut,  on  every  one  of  these  festival 
days,  but  the  University,  schools  and  public  offices  are 
closed  also.  The  Greeks  are  very  zealous  professors,  and 


FESTIVALS,    KELIGIOUS   AND    CIVIC.  7  < 

would  exhibit  much  more  progress  as  a  people,  if  they  did 
not  make  a  mill-stone  of  their  religion,  and  wear  it  around 
their  necks. 

My  Greek  teacher,  who  was  a  student  of  law,  insisted  on 
being  paid  by  the  month,  and  turned  his  agreement  to  pro 
lit  by  rigidly  observing  every  saiut's-day.  He  was  indebted 
to  the  lessons  he  gave  me  for  the  means  of  buying  an  over- 
coat, and  always  came  into  my  room  half  frozen  from  his 
fireless  chambers;  yet,  with  that  inordinate  vanity  which 
characterizes  the  Greeks  of  all  classes,  he  declared  that  he 
was  not  obliged  and  did  not  wish  to  teach,  but  condescended 
to  do  so  for  the  pleasure  of  visiting  me !  Next  door  to  us 
there  was  a  small,  one-story  house,  inhabited  by  a  poor 
family.  The  daughter,  a  girl  of  twelve  or  thirteen,  attended 
the  Arsakeion,  or  Seminary  for  Girls,  a  gift  of  Arsakis  to 
the  Greek  people,  just  across  the  street.  The  ridiculous 
little  chit  must  have  a  servant  to  carry  her  two  books  those 
thirty  paces,  and  we  sometimes  saw  her,  when  the  school 
was  over,  waiting  behind  the  door,  not  daring  to  appear  in 
the  street  with  books  in  her  hand.  Nearly  all  the  girls  who 
came  to  the  Arsakeion  (some  two  hundred  day-scholars) 
were  similarly  attended,  yet  they  were  mostly  from  families 
of  moderate  means. 

New- Year's  Day  (Jan.  13,  New  Style)  was  celebrated 
very  much  as  it  is  with  us,  by  a  mutual  interchange  of  visits, 
in  the  morning,  however,  there  was  a  Te  Deum  at  the 
Church  of  St.  Irene,  which  was  attended  by  the  King,  Queen, 
and  all  the  principal  personages  connected  witb  the  Govern 
raeut.  This  is  one  of  the  four  or  five  occasions  when  theii 
Majesties — one  of  whom  is  a  Catholic,  and  the  other  a  Pro 


78  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

testant — are  obliged  to  attend  Greek  service.  The  King 
keeps  a  Jesuit  priest  and  the  Queen  a  Lutheran  clergyman 
from  Holstein,  both  of  whom  perform  service  in  the  Royal 
CKapel,  but  at  different  hours.  I  went  to  hear  the  latter, 
and  found  a  small  congregation,  composed  exclusively  of 
Germans.  The  English  Church,  of  which  Mr.  Hill  is  minis 
tor — the  only  instance,  I  believe,  in  which  an  American 
clergyman  has  been  appointed  Chaplain  to  an  English  Lega- 
tion— is  a  solid  building,  of  the  plainest  kind  of  Gothic, 
which  looks  as  if  it  had  strayed  away  from  some  new  rail- 
road town  in  England.  The  Russians  also  have  a  very  neat 
Byzantine  chapel,  with  detached  belfry.  The  fine  singing 
of  the  choristers,  who  are  mostly  boys,  attracts  many  per- 
sons. The  Russians  have  had  taste  enough  to  harmonize 
and  thoroughly  reform  the  chants  of  their  Church,  yet 
without  destroying  their  solemn  and  antique  quaintness. 
The  elements  of  the  music  are  retained,  but  reduced  to 
order  and  made  effective ;  whereas,  in  the  Greek  Church, 
the  chanting  is  of  a  character  acceptable  neither  to  men  noi 
angels.  An  attempt  has  recently  been  made  here,  also,  to 
substitute  harmony  for  chaotic  discord ;  but  the  Patriarch, 
knowing  how  much  of  the  power  of  the  Church  depends  on 
its  strict  adherence  to  superannuated  forms,  refuses  to  sanc- 
tion any  such  innovation. 

To  return  to  the  Te  Deum,  the  tedium  of  which  I 
endured  for  half  an  hour.  The  King  and  Queen,  who  arrived 
in  their  state  coach  and  six,  were  received  at  the  door  of  the 
church  by  the  Metropolitan,  or  Archbishop  of  Athens,  a 
venerable  old  man  with  llowing  gray  beard,  wearing  a  mag- 
nificent stole  of  crimson  embroidered  with  gold,  and  a  cap 


GREEK    FESTIVALS,    RELIGIOUS    AND    CIVIC.  79 

shaped  like  a  pumpkin  with  one  end  sliced  off.  Behind 
him  were  a  retinue  of  priests,  who,  with  their  mild  laces, 
long  beards,  and  flowing  hair,  resembled  the  Apostles  some- 
what, though  their  robes  were  of  decidedly  gayer  color  and 
finer  texture.  After  the  Royal  pair,  came  a  mass  of  Minis- 
ters, Generals,  Judges,  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  and 
others,  in  uniforms,  ribbons  and  orders,  or  palikar  costume, 
filling  up  the  main  aisle,  which  had  been  kept  clear  for 
them.  The  King  and  Queen  were  conducted  to  a  dais  in 
front  of  the  altar,  where  they  remained  standing  during 
the  ceremony.  On  this  occasion,  the  latter  wore  the  Greek 
dress,  which,  though  she  had  slightly  outgrown  it,  became 
her  very  well.  The  red  cap  set  off  to  advantage  her  rich, 
dark-brown  hair,  and  her  handsome  shoulders  showed  yet 
fairer  above  the  jacket  of  crimson  velvet,  embroidered  with 
gold.  I  noticed  that  the  King  crossed  himself  at  the  pro- 
per times,  while  the  expression  of  the  Queen's  face  was 
rather  that  of  repressed  mirth.  Indeed,  with  all  proper 
reverence  for  the  feeling  of  reverence  in  others — with  no 
disposition  to  make  light  of  sincere  religious  feeling,  how- 
ever expressed — it  was  almost  impossible  for  me  not  to 
smile,  or  stop  my  ears,  at  the  tremendous  nasal  brayinga 
.vhich  now  and  then  shook  the  church.  The  bulls  of 
Bashan,  bellowing  in  concert,  would  have  made  music,  com- 
pared to  it.  Again  I  say,  Ictinus  worshipped  God  better, 
when  he  built  the  Parthenon. 

The  festival  of  Epiphany  is  celebrated  in  a  peculiar 
manner.  The  Archbishop  repairs  to  the  Piraeus,  and,  after 
appropriate  services  in  the  church,  walks  with  the  priests 
in  solemn  procession  to  the  harbor,  where,  with  certain 


80  TKATELS   IX   GREECE    A>H>   RFSSIA. 

nasal  exclamations,  he  casts  a  cross  into  the  sea.  This  it 
called  the  Blessing  of  the  Waters,  and  is  supposed  to  be  of 
great  advantage  to  vessels,  in  preventing  storms  and  ship- 
wrecks. A  number  of  sailors,  who  are  at  hand  watching  the 
moment,  plunge  after  the  cross.  The  lucky  finder  takes  it 
to  the  Palace,  where  he  receives  a  present  from  the  King 
4t  Volo,  in  Thessaly,  the  same  ceremony  is  performed 
with  the  addition,  that,  by  a  special  miracle,  the  waters  of 
the  sea  become  perfectly  sweet,  and  are  only  restored  to 
saltness  when  the  cross  touches  them.  Of  course,  no  one 
is  heretic  enough  to  disclose  a  doubting  spirit,  by  tasting 
the  water.  The  Greeks  also  fast  during  three  days  at  this 
time.  At  other  periods,  besides  Lent,  there  are  partial 
fasts :  some  days,  they  can  eat  fowl,  but  not  flesh ;  others, 
oil  and  olives,  but  not  fowl.  In  fact,  the  kitchen  occupies 
as  important  a  place  as  the  Church,  in  the  observance  of 
the  Greek  Faith.  The  stomach  and  the  soul  have  a  singu- 
lar sympathy,  and  salvation  is  attained  not  more  by  prayers 
than  by  an  orthodox  diet. 

After  Epiphany  came  the  festival  of  the  Three  Hier. 
archs — St.  Gregory,  St.  Basil,  and  St.  Chrysostom.  This 
is  also  celebrated  by  loafing,  as  well  as  by  homilies  in  the 
Churches.  I  did  not  attend  any  of  these,  as  I  was  not  suf 
ficiently  advanced  in  the  language  to  profit  by  them.  The 
Greek  Church,  however,  unlike  the  Roman,  is  better  in  its 
creed  than  in  its  forms,  and  its  clergy,  notwithstanding 
their  ignorance,  have  a  much  higher  moral  character  than 
the  priests  of  Spain  and  Italy.  As  they  are  allowed  to 
marry,  they  are  saved  from  the  scandalous  excesses  com- 
mon to  the  latter.  The  .-ibsence  of  the  doctrine  of  Purga 


GREEK    FESTIVALS,    RELIGIOUS    ANt>   CIVIC.  81 

tory  also  takes  away  from  them  an  opportunity  of  much 
pious  extortion.  The  Church,  shorn  of  the  monstrous- 
excrescences  of  its/orms,  would  differ  very  little  from  that 
of  England.  A  proposal,  on  the  part  of  the  latter,  to 
enter  into  Christian  fellowship  with  it,  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  was  only  prevented  by  the  difference  of  doctrine 
on  the  subject  of  the  Eucharist. 

Towards  the  close  of  January,  the  King  and  Queen 
visited  Chalcis,  in  Euboaa,  whither  they  went  to  celebrate 
the  completion  of  a  channel  for  vessels,  with  a  drawbridge, 
through  the  Evripean  Strait.  This  is  a  work  which  should 
have  been  done  twenty  years  ago,  but — better  late  than 
never.  A  furious  storm  came  on,  the  snow  fell  two  feet 
deep,  the  house  in  which  they  were  lodged  took  fire,  the 
Queen  was  obliged  to  sleep  in  her  robes  of  state,  and  the 
King  came  back  with  a  fever.  Nothing  less  than  being 
blown  up  by  an  exploding  powder-mill  could  shake  the 
Queen's  constitution.  She  is  capable  of  heading  an  expe- 
dition to  the  North  Pole. 

In  February  there  was  an  extra  festival  week,  to  cele- 
brate the  King's  Jubilceum,  or  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
his  landing  in  Greece.  The  first  suggestion  «jf  this  cele- 
bration came,  it  is  generally  understood,  from  the  Court, 
and  the  Legislative  Assembly,  which  has  become  merely 
an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  Crown,  immediately 
voted  the  requisite  funds.  Two  hundred  thousand  drachmas 
($33,333)  were  thus  appropriated  from  an  impoverished 
treasury  in  a  land  where  the  commonest  means  of  commu- 
nication fail.  A  member  of  the  House  of  Deputies  said 
to  me  that,  to  his  certain  knowledge,  every  member  of  thf 


32  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE    AND   RUSSIA. 

House  was  opposed  to  such  a  grant — and  yet  thtre  was  & 
unanimous  vote  in  its  favor.  In  the  Senate  there  was 
undoubtedly  a  large  majority  against  it,  but  no  member 
opened  his  mouth  except  to  vote  for  it.  "  How  is  it,"  1 
asked  a  gentleman  who  has  been  living  in  Athens  for  some 
years,  "that  no  one  dares  to  oppose  the  Crown?"  "  It  is 
interest,"  he  repUed,  "  and  the  fact  that  every  appointment 
is  actually  in  the  King's  hands.  If  the  Opposition  member 
holds  no  office  himself,  he  has  relatives  or  friends  who  do, 
and  all  such  would  immediately  lose  their  places."  The 
spirit  of  office-seeking  is  quite  as  prevalent  in  Greece  as  in 
the  United  States.  With  us,  it  manifests  itself  hi  suf- 
ficiently mean  and  grovelling  forms,  but  in  that  little  coun- 
try it  has  undermined  everything  like  independence  of 
political  action. 

The  festival  was  to  have  been  held  at  Nauplia,  where  the 
King  first  landed,  and,  for  a  fortnight  before  the  day,  the 
little  town  was  astir  with  preparations.  Snow  lay  nearly 
two  feet  deep  upon  the  plain  of  Argos,  the  wind  blew 
uninterruptedly  from  the  north,  and  there  was  no  prospect 
of  comfortable  quarters  in  the  fireless  Greek  houses; 
nevertheless,  as  deputations  were  expected  from  all  parts 
of  the  Morea,  it  was  a  great  chance  to  see  the  different 
Greek  clans  assembled  together,  and  we  made  arrange- 
ments to  go  with  the  crowd.  The  fever,  however,  which 
the  King  caught  at  Chalcis,  finally  changed  the  programme. 
The  physicians  dissuaded  him  from  going ;  the  Queen,  who 
did  not  relish  the  idea  of  sleeping  again  in  her  state  robes, 
sided  with  them,  and  ti\  e  days  before  the  appointed  time 
he  gave  way  under  the  combined  pressure.  All  the 


GREEK    FESTIVALS,    RELIGIOUS    AND    CIVIC.  83 

nouey  spent  at  Nauplia  was  therefore  thrown  away, 
except  such  as  had  been  employed  in  making  the  streets 
practicable  for  carriages.  The  Royal  household  and  equi- 
pages, which  had  all  been  forwarded  in  steamers,  had  to 
bo  brought  back  in  haste.  Preparations  were  commenced 
anew  in  Athens,  giving  us  an  idea  of  the  artistic  talents  of 
the  Greeks,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  previous  appro- 
priations had  been  employed  at  Nauplia. 

First  of  all,  the  intersection  of  Hermes  and  Eolus  streets, 
the  very  busiest  spot  in  the  city,  was  barred  against  the 
public.  By  employing  carpenters  day  and  night,  an  arch 
of  triumph,  with  four  faces,  was  at  length  raised,  covered 
with  white  muslin  and  painted  in  imitation  of  marble.  It 
was  a  little  out  of  line,  and  when  the  sun  shone  the  inte 
rior  scaffolding  showed  through  the  thin  covering ;  but  by 
night,  when  it  was  decorated  with  banners  and  lamps,  the 
effect  was  not  so  bad.  Next,  the  sidewalks  were  broken 
up  in  Hermes  street,  holes  dug  on  both  sides  and  a  range 
of  wooden  frames  about  twelve  feet  high,  planted  all  the 
way  to  the  palace.  These  frames,  being  circular,  and 
covered  with  white  muslin,  puckered  a  h'ttle  to  represent 
flutings,  were  called  Doric  columns.  Some  of  them  were 
bound  with  blue  ribbons;  some  were  upright,  and  some 
leaned  to  one  side  or  the  other,  while  the  spaces  between 
them,  though  sufficiently  irregular,  failed  to  produce  the 
harmonious  ettect  ot  the  studied  irregularities  of  the  Par- 
thenon. When  this  grotesque  colonnade  was  completed,  s 
shield,  containing  the  portrait  of  some  revolutionary  hero 
or  distinguished  Philhellene,  was  placed  upon  each  column, 
all  of  which  were  then  bound  one  to  another  by  garlands 


34  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

more  withered  than  green.  The  portraits  were  curiouslj 
painted  in  snuff-color  on  a  blue  ground.  Byron  and 
Cochrane  would  not  have  been  recognised  by  their  nearest 
friends.  The  effect  of  this  colonnade  was  in  the  highest 
degree  tawdry  and  shabby,  especially  when  the  wind  got 
under  the  muslin  and  bulged  out  the  Doric  columns  in  the 
most  absurd  way.  On  each  side  of  the  Church  of  St.  Irene 
stood  three  arches  of  scaffolding,  covered  in  like  manner, 
the  piers  between  them  being  of  blue  muslin,  over  which 
were  drawn  strings  of  white  tape,  to  represent  flutings. 
Ancient  and  Modern  Greece !  was  my  involuntary  thought, 
as  I  looked  on  these  flapping  calicoes,  and  then  up  to  the 
majestic  remnant  of  the  Parthenon,  visible  over  the  wall 
of  the  Acropolis. 

By  Saturday  morning,  all  the  preparations,  which,  having 
been  ordered  by  the  Court  and  paid  for  by  the  Government, 
were  supposed  to  represent  an  indefinite  amount  of  populai 
joy,  were  completed.  They  reminded  me  of  a  little  cir- 
cumstance which  occurred  on  Jenny  Lind's  first  landing  in 
New  York  ;  and,  as  Mr.  Barnum  has  told  many  worse 
things  of  himself,  I  may  tell  this.  I  was  standing  on  the 
paddle-box  of  the  Atlantic,  near  the  great  showman,  as  we 
approached  Canal-street  wharf,  on  which  was  erected  a 
large  triumphal  arch  of  evergreens,  with  the  Swedish  flag 
floating  over  it.  "  Mr.  Barnurn,"  I  asked,  "  who  put  that 
up  ?"  "  An  enthusiastic  public,  Sir,"  he  replied  with  great 
gravity,  and  a  peculiar  twinkle  of  his  left  eye.  Here,  how- 
ever, I  noticed  three  or  four  private  decorations,  but  of  the 
rudest  kind.  The  public  was  evidently  pleased,  for  the 
Greeks  have  a  childish  delight  in  flags,  music,  fireworks, 


GREEK   FESTIVALS,   KELIGIOUS  AND   CIVIC.  85 

and  the  like.  As  the  Carnival  Week  was  to  ccmmence  the 
next  day,  masks  already  began  to  appear  in  the  street,  and 
the  hilarity  of  the  religious  festival  lent  its  character  to  the 
political  one.  A  few  days  before,  the  King's  brother 
Prince  Adalbert  of  Bavaria,  arrived  on  a  visit  of  congra 
tulation,  accompanied  by  Maurer,  one  of  the  Bavarian 
Regents  who  managed  Greece  during  the  King's  minority. 
Austria  also  sent  a  deputation,  consisting  of  Lieut.  Field- 
Marshal  Farr,  and  the  sons  of  Prince  Metternich  and 
Baron  Prokesch-Osten,  to  congratulate  the  King.  These 
visits,  together  with  the  arrival  of  English,  French,  Russian 
and  Dutch  vessels-of-war  at  the  Piraeus,  gave  an  unusual 
dash  and  brilliancy  to  Athenian  life. 

The  ceremonies  consisted  of  a  Te  Deum  at  the  church  in 
the  morning,  official  visits  of  congratulation  afterwards  at 
the  palace,  and  a  grand  state  ball  in  the  evening.  As  we 
had  already  heard  one  Te  Deum  on  New- Year's  Day,  and 
had  no  wish  to  endure  the  crowd  and  the  chanting  a 
second  time,  we  betook  ourselves  to  Hermes  street,  and 
found  a  convenient  place  to  see  the  cortege,  in  a  gap 
between  two  companies  of  soldiers.  At  ten  o'clock,  the 
firing  of  cannon  and  the  blast  of  trumpets  announced  that 
the  King  had  left  the  palace.  Presently,  a  mounted  officer 
appeared,  cantering  lightly  down  the  street,  and  followed 
by  half- i-dozen  wild-looking  mountaineers,  in  their  coarse 
white  woollen  dresses,  bare-headed,  and  with  long  hair 
streaming  in  the  wind.  As  they  ran  and  leaped  along, 
aiming  back  now  and  then,  they  were  picturesque  enough 
*o  pass  for  a  company  of  satyrs  dancing  before  the  chariot 
of  Bacchus.  After  them  came  another  company  nearly  an 


66  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

wild,  but  bearing  large  blue  and  white  silken  banners,  with 
various  inscriptions  and  devices,  and  running  at  full  speed. 
These,  I  was  told,  were  the  representatives  of  the  various 
trades,  bearing  the  banners  of  their  guilds.  The  Royal 
Carriage,  which  now  appeared,  was  surrounded  by  a  dozen 
more  of  them — rough,  stalwart,  bare-headed  fellows,  with 
flashing  eyes,  and  hair  that  tossed  in  the  wind  as  they 
sprang.  They  gave  life  and  character  to  the  spectacle, 
which  would  have  been  a  frigid  affair  without  them. 

The  King's  appearance  was  the  signal  for  a  general  cry 
of  "  Zito  /"  (vive,  or  hurrah  /)  He  looked  happy  and 
excited,  and  his  pale  face  was  pleasantly  flushed  as  he 
acknowledged  the  greetings.  The  Queen  was  all  conde- 
scension, as  usual.  On  the  front  seat  sat  Prince  Adalbert, 
a  burly,  red-faced  fellow,  with  the  air  and  expression  of  a 
pi*osperous  brewer.  He  contrasted  unfavorably  with  the 
King,  and  the  Greeks  already  disliked  him.  If  he  had  any 
pretensions  to  the  crown  of  Greece,  his  visit  at  that  time 
was  unfortunate.  The  Ministers,  Generals,  Foreign  Ambas- 
sadors, and  other  dignitaries,  followed  in  a  long  procession, 
which  was  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  passing.  We 
afterwards  went  to  the  Palace,  and  witnessed  the  return,  in 
>vhich  the  countrymen  and  the  tradesmen  with  their  banners 
»vere  the  most  conspicuous  objects.  There  was,  however, 
very  spontaneous  and  hearty  cheering  from  the  thousands 
assembled,  when  the  King  came  out  on  the  balcony. 
\rarious  official  personages  were  cheered  as  they  arrived 
to  pay  their  respects,  anl  it  was  perhaps  a  significant  sigr 
that  the  loudest  zitos  were  for  the  Russian  Minister. 

I  attended  the  ball   in  the  evening,  which  was  but  » 


GREEK   FESTIVALS,    RELIGIOUS   AND   CIVIC.  8") 

repetition  of  the  one  I  have  already  described.  The  next 
day,  there  was  a  great  gathering  at  the  Temple  of  Theseus, 
where  the  multitude  were  regaled  with  a  hundred  and  fifty 
roasted  sheep,  several  hogsheads  of  wine,  and  cart-loads  of 
bread  and  onions.  As  we  had  not  been  informed  of  the 
hour,  the  dinner  was  over  before  we  reached  the  spot,  and 
[  am  indebted  for  a  description  of  it  to  the  King  himself, 
who  described  it  to  me  with  evident  pleasure,  at  a  ball  two 
days  later.  Among  other  incidents,  a  peasant,  more  than 
a  hundred  years  old,  appeared  before  the  King  and  Queen, 
drank  their  healths  out  of  a  big  bottle  of  wine,  and  danced 
the  Roma'ika  before  them  with  a  good  deal  of  spirit. 
While  we  were  there,  the  barrels  were  on  tap,  and  the 
tradesmen  Avere  dancing  around  their  banners;  but,  out  of 
five  thousand  people,  I  did  not  see  ten  who  were  intoxi- 
cated. I  believe  the  Greeks  to  be  the  soberest  Christians 
in  the  world 

Three  days  afterwards  there  was  a  select  ball  at  the 
Palace,  but  here  the  Grecian  element  was  less  conspicuous, 
the  foreign  guests  receiving  the  preference.  Then  the 
Demarch  of  Athens  gave  a  grand  ball  to  the  King  and 
Queen,  in  the  Theatre.  It  was  a  frightful  jam,  more  than 
a  thousand  persons  being  crammed  into  the  little  building. 
I  endured  it  for  about  an  hour,  and  then  left,  to  save  my 
ribs  and  lungs.  Finally,  on  the  evening  of  the  seventh  day. 
there  was  a  brilliant  display  of  fireworks  from  the  open 
space  in  front  of  the  palace,  winding  up  with  a  wild 
Romaic  dance  by  soldiers  holding  burning  blue-lights  in 
their  hands.  In  appearance,  in  sound,  and  in  smell,  the 
spectacle  was  absolutely  infernal. 


88  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND  RUSSIA. 

Oil  the  25th  of  January,  Sir  Thomas  Wyse,  the  Englisl 
Minister,  gave  a  grand  ball,  in  honor  of  the  Princess 
Royal's  marriage.  All  the  high  dignitaries,  short  of  roy 
alty,  were  there,  with  more  female  beauty  than  I  have  seen 
gathered  together  for  many  a  day.  There  were  no  Phi- 
didii  faces,  no  pure  antique  profiles,  nothing  even  so  sweet 
and  so  stately  as  the  caryatides  of  the  Erechtheion,  but 
superb  hair,  glorious  dark  eyes,  fringed  by  long  lashes 
ripely-curved  Southern  mouths,  and  complexions  varying 
from  the  clear  tint  of  sun-stained  marble  to  the  perfect 
white  and  red  of  Circassia.  Conspicuous  among  the 
Greek  girls  were  Photine  Mavromikhali,  grand-daughter 
of  old  Petron  Bey,  a  Spartan  beauty,  tall,  proud  and  state- 
ly, and  Miss  Black,  daughter  of  the  Maid  of  Athens.  1 
was  talking,  as  I  supposed,  to  a  young  Hydriote  girl,  with 
the  sweetest  Madonna  face  tied  up  in  her  embroidered 
handkerchief,  but  afterwards  learned  that  she  had  been  a 
widow  for  five  years  past.  Her  mother,  who  was  almost 
equally  beautiful,  did  not  appear  to  be  ten  years  older. 


OH  API  Eli     iA. 

AN      EXCURSION     TO      CKE1B. 

AFTEB  wa  ting  a  month  for  a  cessation  of  the  cold  and 
stormy  weather,  there  seemed  to  be  at  last  some  promise 
of  a  change  for  the  better,  and  I  made  preparations  to 
leave  Athens  for  a  few  weeks.  The  festivities  connected 
with  the  King's  Jubihfium  closed  on  the  evening  of  the  12th 
of  February  ;  the  frolics  of  the  Carnival  had  become  worn 
out  and  spiritless,  and  but  two  more  days  intervened  before 
the  commencement  of  Lent,  during  which  time  the  Greeks 
do  real  penance,  and  are  melancholy  from  bodily,  not  from 
spiritual  causes.  Lent  in  Athens  is  inaugurated  by  a  uni- 
versal gathering  of  the  people  before  the  columns  of  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  Olympus,  where  they  consume  their  first 
lean  meal  in  public,  and  dance  for  the  last  time  before 
Easter.  An  immense  quantity  of  onions,  leeks  and  garlic 
is  consumed  on  this  occasion,  and  the  spectacle  is  therefore 
calculated  to  draw  tears  from  the  contemplative  observer 
I  did  not,  however,  consider  it  worth  while  to  lose  a  week 
of  good  weather  for  the  purpose  of  attending  this  festival 


90  TRAVELS   IK   GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

Our  destination  was  Crete,  the  least  visited  yet  niosl 
interesting  of  all  the  Grecian  islands.  (I  use  "  Grecian" 
in  the  ancient,  not  the  modern  sense.  Crete  has  been,  >iu«-L- 
1669,  subject  to  Turkey.)  Braisted  and  I,  accompanied  by 
Francois  as  dragoman  and  purveyor,  with  Ids  kit,  camp 
beds,  and  a  multitude  of  Arabic  saddle-bags,  left  our  joint 
mansion  in  Athens,  and  descended  to  the  Piraeus.  The 
steamer  which  was  to  take  us  to  Crete  was  just  coming  into 
the  harbor,  with  the  Lord  High  Commissioner  of  the  Ionian 
Islands  and  his  suite  on  board,  which  circumstance  obliged 
us  to  wait  until  long  after  dark,  before  we  could  get  under 
way  for  Syra.  We  awoke  next  morning  in  the  island- 
harbor,  opposite  the  white  pyramidal  town,  in  the  aspect  of 
which  I  could  not  notice  the  slightest  difference  since  I  first 
saw  it,  more  than  six  years  ago.  Our  steamer  lay  there  all 
day — a  very  tedious  detention — and  started  in  the  evening 
for  Khania,  about  150  miles  distant  in  a  southein  direction. 
Crete  lies  between  the  parallels  of  35°  and  36°,  not  much 
further  removed  from  Africa  than  from  Europe,  and  its 
climate,  consequently,  is  intermediate  between  that  of 
Greece  and  that  of  Alexandria. 

In  the  morning,  the  island  was  already  visible,  although 
some  thirty  miles  distant,  the  magnificent  snowy  mass  of 
the  White  Mountains  gleaming  before  us,  under  a  bank  01 
clouds.  By  ten  o'clock,  the  long  blue  line  of  the  coast 
broke  into  irregular  points,  the  Dictynnsean  promontory 
and  that  of  Akroteri  thrusting  themselves  out  toward  us 
BO  as  to  give  an  amphitheatric  character  to  that  part  of  the 
island  we  were  approaching,  while  the  broad,  snowy  dome 
of  the  Cretan  Ida,  standing  alone,  far  to  the  east,  floated  in 


AST    EXCURSION    TO   CRETE.  91 

a  sea  of  soft,  golden  light.  The  White  Mountains  were 
completely  enveloped  in  snow  to  a  distance  of  4,000  feet 
below  their  summits,  and  scarcely  a  rock  pierced  the  lumin- 
ous covering.  The  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Khania,  retaining 
their  amphitheatric  form,  rose  gradually  from  the  water,  a 
rich  panorama  of  wheat-fields,  vineyards  and  olive  groves, 
crowded  with  sparkling  villages,  while  Khania,  in  the  cen 
tre,  grew  into  distinctness — a  picturesque  jumble  of  mos- 
ques, old  Venetian  arches  and  walls,  pink  and  yellow  build- 
ings, and  palm  trees.  The  character  of  the  scene  was 
Syrian  rather  than  Greek,  being  altogether  richer  and 
warmer  than  anything  in  Greece. 

We  entered  the  little  port,  which  is  protected  by  a  mole. 
luit  is  too  shallow  and  confined  to  contain  more  than  a 
dozen  vessels  of  average  size.  In  fact,  it  is  partly  filled  up. 
and  needs  digging  out  again.  The  Serai,  or  Government 
Palace,  resting  on  lofty  arches,  which  spring  from  the 
remains  of  some  old  Venetian  defences,  fronts  the  entrance  ; 
a  liUle  yellow  mosque  nestles  under  it,  close  upon  the  water, 
and  an  irregular  mass  of  rickety  houses,  with  overhanging 
balconies,  incloses  the  port.  On  the  right,  as  we  enter,  is  a 
battary,  the  walls  of  which  are  crowded  with  idle  Turkish 
soldiers.  The  narrow  stone  quay  around  the  port  is 
thronged  with  Oriental  costumes,  among  which  the  white 
turban  of  the  Moslem  is  frequent.  Everything  has  a  mel- 
low tint  of  age,  indolence,  and  remoteness  from  Progress. 

After  a  time,  we  obtained  pratique,  and  were  put  ashore 
at  a  little  yellow  custom-house  beside  the  mosque.  While 
Jie  people  were  crowding  around  us  with  great  curiosity,  1 
was  accosted  \vitli  the  question  :  "  Are  you  from  the  States  V 


J2  TRAVE15   IX   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

The  speaker  was  an  Englishman,  who  probably  belonged 
to  a  coaler  in  the  harbor.  "  Because,"  he  continued,  "  the 
dragoman  of  the  American  Consul  lives  close  by,  and  he 
can  help  you  get  your  things  through."  At  this  moment, 
the  dragoman — an  Ionian  Greek — made  his  appearance,  and 
conducted  us  at  once  to  the  Consulate.  We  found  the 
Consul,  Mr.  Mountfort,  in  a  rickety  little  house,  overlook- 
ing the  harbor.  The  American  flag  was  profusely  displayed 
on  the  walls :  I  counted  no  less  than  five  specimens.  "  There 
is  no  khan  in  the  place,"  siid  the  dragoman,  "  you  must 
stop  here."  After  some  deliberation,  we  took  possession 
of  the  servant's  room,  which  was  dry  and  well  ventilated, 
by  means  of  holes  in  the  floor.  The  preliminary  arrange- 
ments made,  the  Consul  entertained  us  with  some  excel- 
lent old  Cretan  wine,  and  a  full  account  of  his  doings  since 
he  came  to  the  island.  He  claimed  to  have  been  the  first 
to  introduce  rum,  soda-ash  and  soap-bags  into  Crete.  "  I 
intend  to  build  up  quite  a  trade  in  American  rum,"  said  he. 
"  Your  failure  would  be  a  better  thing  for  the  Cretans  than 
your  success,"  I  could  not  help  remarking. 

Khania  occupies  the  site  of  the  ancient  Cydonia,  by 
which  name  the  Greek  bishopric  is  still  called.  The  Vene- 
tian city  was  founded  in  1252,  and  any  remnants  of  the 
older  town  which  may  have  then  remained,  were  quite 
obliterated  by  it.  The  only  ruins  now  are  those  of  Vene- 
tian churches,  some  of  which  have  been  converted  into 
mosques,  and  a  number  of  immense  arched  vaults,  opening 
on  the  harbor,  built  to  shelter  the  galleys  of  the  Republic. 
Just  beyond  the  point  on  which  stands  the  Serai',  I  counted 
fifteen  of  these,  side  by  side,  eleven  of  which  are  still  entire 


AN    EXCURSION  TO   CRETE.  93 

A  little  furtL^r,  there  are  three  more,  but  all  are  choked 
up  with  sana-  and  of  no  present  use.  The  modern  town 
is  an  exact  y;.cture  of  a  Syrian  sea-port,  with  its  narrow, 
crooked  streets,  shaded  bazaars,  and  turbaned  merchants, 
Its  population  is  9,500,  including  the  garrison,  according  tn 
a  census  just  completed  at  the  time  of  our  visit.  It  is 
walled,  and  the  gates  are  closed  during  the  night. 

In  the  evening,  we  paid  a  visit  to  Mademoiselle  Kon 
taxaky,  better  known  throughout  the  East  as  "  Elizabeth 
of  Crete."  I  had  a  letter  of  introduction  to  her  from  Mr. 
Hill,  in  whose  family  she  was  educated.  Her  profound 
scholarship,  wit,  enthusiasm  and  energy  are  characteristics 
of  the  rarest  kind  among  the  Greek  women  of  the  present 
day,  and  have  therefore  given  her  a  wide  celebrity.  Of 
course,  her  position  is  not  entirely  a  pleasant  one.  While 
some  of  the  Greeks  are  justly  proud  of  her,  others  dislike 
and  some  fear  her.  Her  will,  talent  and  a  certain  diploma 
tic  aptness  give  her  considerable  power  and  influence,  the 
possession  of  which  always  excites  jealousy  and  enmity  in 
a  Greek  community.  Consequently,  she  has  many  enemies, 
and  is  assailed  at  times  by  the  meanest  slanders  and  intri 
gues.  She  is  about  thirty  years  of  age,  of  a  medium  stature 
and,  with  the  exception  of  her  lambent  black  eyes,  there  is 
nothing  very  striking  in  her  appearance.  She  speak 
English,  Greek  and  French  with  almost  equal  fluency,  and 
has  the  ancient  Greek  authors  at  her  fingers'  ends.  She 
talks  \vith  great  rapidity,  ease,  and  with  a  rare  clearness 
and  sequence  of  ideas,  in  narration.  I  was  interested  at 
finding  in  her  the  same  quickness  and  acuteness  of  mental 
perception  for  which  the  old  Greeks  were  famous.  She  ia 


94  TRAVELS    IX   GREECE   AXD   RUSSIA 

not  a  Hypatia,  yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  both  her  achieve 
ments  and  her  influence  would  be  greater  were  the  sphere 
of  woman  in  those  countries  less  circumscribed.  She  ha* 
been  mentioned  as  an  evidence  of  what  the  race  is  still 
capable  of,  but  I  think  unfairly.  She  would  be  an  excep 
tional  woman  in  any  country. 

The  following  morning,  the  Consul  sent  his  dragoman  to 
request  for  us  an  interview  with  Vely  Pasha,  the  Governor 
of  Crete.  Shortly  afterwards,  the  dragoman  of  the  latter 
called  upon  us  and  gave  notice  of  the  hour  when  we  would 
be  received.  We  found  the  Pasha  in  the  Serai',  in  a  hand- 
somely furnished  room,  which  was  decorated  with  busts 
and  pictures.  Conspicuous  among  the  latter  was  a  large 
tinted  lithograph  of  Stuart's  head  of  Washington.  The 
Pasha  came  forward  to  receive  us,  shook  hands,  and  con- 
ducted us  to  the  divan,  where,  instead  of  dropping  cross- 
legged  on  the  cushions,  we  all  took  our  rest  on  comfortable 
Boston  rocking-chairs.  He  spoke  French  very  well,  having 
been,  as  the  reader  may  remember,  Turkish  Ambassador  at 
Paris  for  three  years,  during  the  whole  period  of  the  war, 
when  his  post  was  more  than  ordinarily  important.  Previous 
to  this,  he  had  been  Governor  of  Bosnia.  He  has,  besides. 
served  in  Egypt,  and  speaks,  as  he  informed  me,  seven 
languages.  He  is  a  very  handsome  man,  above  the  average 
size  of  the  Turks,  and  not  more  than  thirty-five  years  of 
age.  His  costume,  except  the  fez,  was  entirely  European. 
and  he  is  the  first  Oriental  I  have  seen  who  wears  it 
naturally  and  gracefully. 

If  I  was  pleased  with  Vely  Pasha  at  first  sight,  his  kind 
ness  during  this  interview  certainly  gave  me  no  reason  to 


AN   EXCURSION   TO   CRETE.  95 

change  my  opinion.  Learning  that  we  intended  visiting 
the  monasteries  of  Akroteri  next  day,  he  immediately  offered 
us  horses  from  lus  own  stable,  and  an  officer  as  guide  and 
attendant.  Besides  promising  to  have  a  firman  written  for 
our  journey  into  the  interior,he  ordered  Ms  secretary  to  pre- 
pare letters  of  recommendation  for  me,  to  the  Governors 
of  lihithymnos  and  Candia,  and  the  Greek  Bishop  and 
Archbishop,  and  concluded  by  offering  to  send  an  attendant 
with  us  during  the  whole  journey.  I  hesitated  to  accept  so 
many  generous  offers,  but  he  declared  it  to  be  his  earnest 
desire  that  the  island  should  be  seen  by  strangers,  that  it 
may  become  better  known  and  more  frequently  visited, 
and  therefore  he  considered  it  his  duty  to  furnish  me  with 
.ill  the  facilities  at  his  command.  While  we  were  discuss- 
ing this  matter,  in  combination  with  some  pipes  of  delicious 
Latakia,  his  carriage  was  brought  to  the  door,  and  we  set 
out,  under  the  secretary's  escort,  to  visit  the  Pasha's  coun 
try  palace  and  gardens  at  Seviglia,  about  four  miles  dis- 
tant. 

Passing  through  the  large  Turkish  cemetery,  which  was 
covered  with  an  early  crop  of  blue  anemones,  we  came 
upon  the  rich  plain  of  Khania,  lying  broad  and  fair,  like  a 
superb  garden,  at  the  foot  of  the  White  Mountains,  whose 
vast  masses  of  shining  snow  filled  up  the  entire  southern 
heaven.  Eastward,  the  plain  slopes  to  the  deep  bay  of 
Smla,  whose  surface  shone  blue  above  the  silvery  line  of  the 
olive  groves ;  while,  sixty  miles  away,  rising  high  above  the 
intermediate  headlands,  the  solitary  peak  of  Mount  Ida, 
bathed  in  a  warm  afternoon  glow,  gleamed  like  an  Olym- 
pian mount,  not  only  the  birthplace,  but  the  throne  of  im- 


96  TRAVELS  IN   UBEECE  AND   RUSSIA. 

mortal  Jove.  Immense  olive  trees  sprang  from  the  dark- 
red,  fertile  earth ;  cypresses  and  the  canopied  Italian  pine 
interrupted  their  gray  monotony,  and  every  garden  hung 
the  golden  lamps  of  its  oranges  over  the  wall.  The  plain 
Is  a  paradise  of  fruitfulness,  and  alas !  of  fever.  The  moist 
soil,  the  dense  shade,  with  lack  of  proper  drainage  and 
ventilation,  breed  miasma  which  make  it  dangerous,  durin 
a  part  of  the  year,  to  pass  a  single  night  in  any  of  the 
villages.  We  found  the  Pasha's  house  dismantled,  and  the 
furniture — mostly  carpets  and  cushions — heaped  up  in  two 
or  three  rooms ;  but  the  garden,  with  its  tanks  and  water- 
pipes,  its  hedges  of  blooming  roses,  its  thickets  of  rhodo- 
dendron and  bowers  of  jasmine,  was  a  refreshment  to  the 
soul.  The  gardener  gathered  us  oranges  and  bouquets, 
while  I  sat  upon  the  highest  terrace  and  made  a  sketch  of 
the  splendid  plain. 

In  the  morning,  the  horses  were  brought  to  us  at  aa 
early  hour,  in  charge  of  Hadji  Bey,  a  jolly  old  officer  of 
gendarmes,  who  was  to  accompany  us.  As  far  as  the  vil- 
lage of  Kalepa,  where  the  Pasha  was  then  residing,  there  is 
a  carriage-road ;  afterwards,  only  a  stony  mountain  path. 
From  the  spinal  ridge  of  the  promontory,  which  we  crossed, 
we  overlooked  all  the  plain  of  Khania,  and  beyond  the 
Dictynnsean  peninsula,  to  the  western  extremity  of  Crete. 
The  White  Mountains,  though  less  than  seven  thousand  feet 
ai  height,  deceive  the  eye  by  the  contrast  between  their 
spotless  snows  and  the  summer  at  their  base,  and  seem  to 
rival  the  Alps.  The  day  was  cloudless  and  balmy ;  birda 
sang  on  every  tree,  and  the  grassy  hollows  were  starred  with 
anemones,  white,  pink,  violet  and  crimson.  It  was  the  firsl 


AN   EXCURSION  TO   CKETK.  97 

breath  of  the  southern  spring,  after  a  winter  which  had 
been  as  terrible  for  Crete  as  for  Greece. 

After  a  ride  of  three  hours,  we  reached  a  broad  valley, 
at  the  foot  of  that  barren  mountain  mass  in  which  the 
promontory  terminates.  To  the  eastward  we  saw  the  large 
monastery  of  Agio,  Triada  (the  Holy  Trinity),  overlook- 
ing its  fat  sweep  of  vine  and  olive  land ;  but  as  I  wished  to 
visit  the  glen  of  Katholiko,  among  tht  mountains,  we 
crossed  the  valley  to  a  large  farm-house,  in  order  to  pro- 
cure a  guide.  The  sun  shone  hot  into  the  stony  and  dirty 
court-yard,  surrounded  by  one-story  huts,  and  not  a  soul 
was  to  be  seen.  There  was  a  little  chapel  at  hand,  and  a 
carved  piece  of  iron  suspended  to  an  orange  tree  beside  it, 
in  lieu  of  a  bell.  Hadji  Bey  shouted,  and  Frau9ois  beat  the 
sacred  metal  with  a  stone,  until  a  gray-bearded  native  and 
two  young  fellows,  with  hair  hanging  in  a  long  braid  do\vn 
their  backs,  made  their  appearance.  What  was  our  sur- 
prise, then,  to  see  the  doors  open  and  a  number  of  women 
and  children,  who  had  previously  concealed  themselves, 
issue  forth !  We  were  now  regaled  with  wine,  and  Diakos, 
one  of  the  long-haired  youths,  mounted  his  mule  to  guide 
us.  In  the  deep,  dry  mountain  glen  which  we  entered,  I 
found  numbers  of  carob-trees.  Rocks  of  dark-blue  lime- 
stone, stained  with  bright  orange  oxydations,  overhung  us  as 
we  followed  the  track  of  a  torrent  upward  into  the  heart  of 
this  bleak  region,  where,  surrounded  by  the  hot,  arid  peaks, 
is  the  monastery  of  Governato. 

A  very  dirty  old  monk  and  two  servants  were  the  only 
inmates.  We  were  hungry,  and  had  counted  on  as  good  a 
dinner  as  might  be  had  in  Lent,  but  some  black  bread,  cheese, 


98  TRAVELS    IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

and  an  unlimited  supply  of  water  were  all  that  \ve  obtained 
The  monk  informed  us  that  the  monastery  was  dedicated 
to  St.  John,  and  was  celebrated  for  the  abundance  of  its 
honey;  but  neither  honey  nor  locusts  could  he  give  ua 
Behind  the  chapel  was  a  vault  in  which  they  put  the  dead 
monks.  When  the  vault  gets  full,  they  take  out  the  bone? 
and  skulls  and  throw  them  into  an  open  chamber  adjoining, 
where  their  daily  sight  and  smell  furnish  wholesome  lesson? 
of  mortality  to  the  survivors.  Frangois  was  so  indignant 
at  the  monk's  venerable  filthiness  and  the  Lenten  fare  he 
gave  us,  that  he  refused  to  pay  anything  "  to  the  Church," 
as  is  delicately  customary. 

We  descended  on  foot  to  the  monastery  of  Katholiko, 
which  we  reached  in  half  an  hour.  Its  situation  is  like  that 
of  San  Saba  in  Palestine,  at  the  bottom  of  a  split  in  the 
stony  hills,  and  the  sun  rarely  shines  upon  it.  Steps  cut  in 
the  rock  lead  down  the  face  of  the  precipice  to  the  deserted 
monastery,  near  which  is  a  cavern  500  feet  long,  leading 
into  the  rock.  The  ravine  is  spanned  by  an  arch,  nearly  50 
feet  high,  at  one  end  of  which  is  a  deep,  dark  well,  wherein 
refractory  monks  were  imprisoned.  The  only  living  thing 
we  saw  was  a  shepherd-boy,  who  shouted  to  us  from  the 
top  of  the  opposite  cliffs.  Of  St.  John  the  Hermit,  whom 
the  monastery  commemorates,  I  know  no  more  than  I  do 
of  St.  John  the  Hunter,  who  has  a  similar  establishment 
near  Athens. 

At  Agia  Triada,  we  found  things  different  indeed.  As 
we  rode  up  the  stately  avenue  of  cypresses,  between  vine- 
yards and  almond  trees  in  blossom,  servants  advanced  to 
:ako  our  horses,  and  the  her/oumenos,  or  abbot,  shouted. 


AN   EXCURSION  TO   CRETE.  '  09 

'  Kalos  orizete  /"  (welcome)  from  the  top  of  the  steps 
With  his  long  gown  and  rotund  person,  he  resembled  a 
good-natured  grandmother,  but  the  volumes  of  his  beard 
expressed  redundant  masculinity.  We  were  ushered  into 
a  clean  room,  furnished  with  a  tolerable  library  of  orthodox 
volumes.  A  boy  of  fifteen,  with  a  face  like  the  young 
Raphael,  brought  us  glasses  of  a  rich,  dark  wine,  something 
like  Port,  jelly  and  coffee.  The  size  and  substantial  charac- 
ter of  this  monastery  attest  its  wealth,  no  less  than  the 
nourishing  appearance  of  the  lands  belonging  to  it.  Its 
large  court-yard  is  shaded  with  vine-bowers  and  orange 
trees,  and  the  chapel  in  the  centre  has  a  fa9ade  supported 
by  Doric  columns. 

It  was  sunset  when  we  reached  Kalepa,  where  we  stopped 
to  dine  with  the  Pasha,  according  to  previous  arrangement. 
He  has  a  country-house  handsomely  furnished  in  the  most 
luxurious  European  style,  the  walls  hung  with  portraits  of 
prominent  living  sovereigns  and  statesmen.  On  the  dinner- 
table  was  an  epergne  of  pure  gold,  two  feet  long  and 
eighteen  inches  high  ;  the  knives,  forks  and  spoons  were 
also  of  the  same  metal.  He  had  an  accomplished  French 
cook,  and  offered  us,  beside  the  wine  of  Crete,  Burgundy, 
Rhenish  and  Champagne.  He  drank  but  sparingly,  how- 
ever, and  of  a  single  kind.  After  dinner,  I  had  a  long 
conversation  with  him  on  the  state  of  the  Orient,  and  was 
delighted  to  find  a  Turk  in  his  position  imbued  with  such 
enlightened  and  progressive  ideas.  If  there  were  nine 
men  like  him,  the  regeneration  of  the  East  would  not 
be  so  difficult.  One  man,  however — unless  he  fills  the 
very  highest  administrative  position — is  almost  powerless, 


100  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   A:M>   RUSSIA. 

when  the  combined  influence  of  the  European  Powers  it 
brought  to  bear  against  him.  Before  the  close  of  1858 
Vely  Pasha  was  recalled  from  Crete,  and  the  good  works 
he  had  begun  completely  neutralized.  The  real  condition 
of  affairs  was  so  thoroughly  misrepresented  that  in  all  the 
newspapers  of  Europe  but  a  single  voice  (the  correspondent 
of  the  London  Times)  was  raised  to  do  him  justice. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A      CBETAN      JOUENET. 

MY  plan  of  travel,  on  leaving  Khania,  was  to  visit  the  wild 
mountain  region  of  Sfakia,  which  lies  beyond  the  White 
Mountains,  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  island.  This 
district  bears  a  similar  relation  to  the  rest  of  Crete,  as  that 
of  Mama  does  to  Greece,  being  inhabited  by  a  savage 
remnant  of  the  ancient  race,  who,  until  within  a  very  few 
years,  have  maintained  a  virtual  independence.  It  is  hi 
such  out-of-the-way  corners  that  the  physical  characteristics 
of  the  original  stock  must  now  be  looked  for.  I  have  long 
believed  that  some  rills  of  Hellenic  blood  must  still  continue 
to  flow  on  the  ancient  soil,  untouched  by  those  Slavonic 
and  Ottoman  inundations  which  have  well  nigh  washed  it 
out  of  the  modern  race.  I  was  quite  sure  that  in  Sfakia, 
where  a  dialect,  conjectured  to  be  the  old  Cretan-Doric,  is 
Btill  spoken,  I  should  find  the  legitimate  stock — the  com- 
mon, not  the  heroic  type,  preserved  almost  intact.  The 
passes  of  the  AVhite  Mountains  are  difficult  at  all  seasons, 
apd  I  ascertained  that  the  xyloscala,  or  "  wooden  ladder,' 


102  TRAVEL   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

by  which  I  had  intended  to  descend  into  Sfakia,  was  not  tc 
be  readied  on  account  of  the  snow ;  but  there  is  anothei 
road  around  the  eastern  base  of  the  mountains,  and  1 
determined  to  try  it. 

The  Pasha  endeavored  to  dissuade  me  from  the  attempt^ 
The  roads  in  Crete,"  said  he,  "  are  absolutely  frightful 
and  though,  as  a  traveller,  you  must  be  prepared  for  any 
experience,  yet,  when  the  season  is  bad,  they  become  quite 
'impassable,  even  to  the  natives.  I  have  had  a  carriage- 
road  surveyed  and  located  from  here  to  Heracleon,  and 
a  small  portion  of  it  is  already  finished,  near  Rhithymnos ; 
but-  the  people  oppose  it  with  all  their  might,  and  at  least 
five  or  six  years  must  elapse  before  enough  is  done  to 
demonstrate  to  them  the  use  and  value  of  such  improve- 
ments.* I  am  satisfied  that  Turkey  will  never  advance 
until  she  has  means  of  communication  sufficient  to  make 
her  internal  resources  available.  This  is  the  first  step 
towards  the  regeneration  of  the  Orient — and  the  only  fir>t 
step  in  the  path  of  true  progress.  The  power  and  civiliza- 
tion of  Europe  rest  on  this  foundation."  There  is  great 
truth  in  these  remarks,  as,  indeed,  there  was  in  the  Pasha's 
views  on  the  Oriental  question.  They  disclosed  an  enlight- 
ened and  practical  mind,  the  rarest  apparition  among  tho 
Governors  of  the  East. 

At  last,  on  the  morning  of  our  departure,  the  Pasha  sent 
me  Captain  Nikephoro,  a  dashing  Sfakiote  cliieftain,  who 
was  ordered  to  accompany  us  through  the  territory,  as 
guide  and  guard.  He  was  a  tall,  handsome  fellow,  with 

*  The  building  of  this  road  was  the  main  cause  of  the  rebellion  u 
Crete,  a  few  months  later ! 


A    CEHTAN   JOURNEY.  108 

fiery  black  eyes,  raven  hair  and  moustache,  and  an  eagle's 
beak  of  a  nose.  A  pair  of  long,  silver-mounted  pistols,  and 
a  yataghan,  with  a  silver  hilt  and  scabbard,  adorned  hia 
belt.  Hadji  Bey  wore  his  blue  uniform  and  sabre,  and  was 
mounted  on  a  sturdy  gray  horse.  The  chief  muleteer, 
Anagnosti,  who  was  chosen  tor  us  by  the  Consul's  drago 
man,  as  an  honest  and  skilful  man  (and  whom  we  after- 
wards discharged  as  the  very  opposite),  was  also  mounted, 
BO  that,  with  our  two  baggage-mules,  we  made  quite  a 
respectable  caravan.  The  Consul,  who  had  hospitably 
entertained  us  during  our  stay,  accompanied  us  to  the 
gates  of  Khania,  and  we  set  off  on  our  first  Cretan  journey, 
in  the  midst  of  a  soft,  thick  ram. 

The  road  to  Suda,  four  miles,  is  a  broad,  carriageable 
way,  leading  through  the  rich  plain  of  Khania.  Peasants 
were  busy  plowing  the  mellow,  dark-red  loam.  Vineyards, 
olive  orchards  and  wheat-fields  succeeded  each  other,  and 
the  flourishing  villages  on  the  lower  slopes  of  the  mountains 
on  our  right,  glimmered  through  the  gray  veil  of  the  fall- 
ing showers.  Suda  is  a  deep,  beautiful  bay,  open  only 
toward  the  north-east,  where  an  old  Venetian  fortress,  on  a 
rocky  island,  commands  its  mouth.  The  ground  at  it 
head  is  marshy,  and  near  the  shore  there  are  salt  pans. 
Vely  Pasha,  however,  had  the  intention  of  draining  these 
marshes  and  building  up  a  town  on  the  spot.  A  bettei 
situation,  in  fact,  could  scarcely  be  found  on  the  island. 

Our  road  followed  the  shore  for  a  short  distance,  and 
then  began  to  climb  the  base  of  Mount  Malaxa,  which 
Cowered  far  above  us,  its  summit  wrapped  in  clouds.  This 
is  probably  the  ancient  Berecynthus,  the  scene  of  the  Idfear 


104  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

Dactyls,  where  fire  was  first  brought  down  from  heaven, 
and  metal  forged.  Antiquaries  are  divided  in  opinion, 
some  affirming  that  the  mountain  is  of  calcareous  rock 
(which  it  certainly  is) — others  that  it  is  schistose,  and  may 
therefore  contain  veins  of  metal.  I  do  not  see  that  tlm 
question  is  of  much  importance.  All  myths  had  a  location, 
jf  course,  and  in  the  days  when  they  formed  a  part  of  the 
prevalent  religion,  men  were  not  in  the  habit  of  testing 
them  by  inquiry  and  research.  Malaxa  corresponds,  geo- 
graphically, with  the  position  of  Berecynthus,  and  we  need 
not  trouble  our  heads  about  the  rest. 

Clumps  of  myrtle  and  oleander  filled  the  glens,  and  the 
mastic  shrub,  sage  and  wild  thyme  covered  the  stouy 
shoulders  of  the  hills.  We  still  plodded  on  in  the  rain, 
passing  here  and  there  a  ruined  keep,  climbing  rocky  lad- 
ders, or  slipping  on  the  polished  surface  of  an  old  road, 
where  the  stones  had  been  laid  together  in  some  sort  of 
order.  After  three  hours,  when  we  were  all  tolerably  wet, 
cold  and  hungry,  we  crossed  the  crest  of  the  shore  hills  and 
came  upon  the  broad  table-land  of  Apokorona,  at  the  east- 
ern base  of  the  White  Mountains.  Cheered  by  the  hope 
of  soon  reaching  our  destination — a  monastery  at  Paleoka- 
stron,  on  the  site  of  Aptera — we  hurried  on  to  a  little  village 
The  people  crowded  to  the  doors  to  see  us  and  give  us  direc- 
tions. "Good  day,  palikar!"  said  a  woman  whom  I 
greeted.  The  men,  all  of  whom  had  very  cheerful  and 
friendly  faces,  accompanied  us  a  little  distance  to  point  out 
the  road,  and  tore  down  the  stone  fences  for  our  mules. 
that  we  might  find  a  shorter  way  across  their  fields. 

The  plain  of  Apokorona  presented  a  pleasant  picture  ol 


A    CRETAN  JOURNEY.  10£ 

fertility  and  cultivation.  Wheat-fields,  divided  by  stone 
fences,  and  dotted  with  clumps  of  olive-trees,  stretched  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  In  half  an  hour  \ve  reached 
some  of  the  ruins  of  Aptera.  Hewn  blocks,  among  them 
fragments  of  small  Doric  pillars,  were  scattered  over  the 
Boil,  and  along  the  highest  part  of  the  hill  ran  a  low  wall  of 
square  stones.  A  little  further  was  the  monastery,  a  mas- 
sive square  stone  building,  standing  in  the  midst  of  some 
ruins  of  the  Roman  time.  The  place  is  a  Met6khi,  or 
branch,  of  the  Monastery  of  St.  John,  on  Patmos.  It  is 
occupied  only  by  one  priest,  a  married  man,  who  rents  from 
the  Government  a  large  tract  of  the  land  lying  round  about 
it,  for  12,000  piastres  ($500)  a  year.  He  received  us  in  the 
court,  ushered  us  into  a  small  leaky  room,  and  in.  due  time 
we  procured  a  meal  of  eggs  fried  in  oil,  fresh  cheese-curds, 
and  coarse  but  good  bread.  Notwithstanding  Lent  had 
commenced,  the  priest  was  willing  to  furnish  heretics  with 
the  means  to  break  it,  for  a  consideration.  We  tried  to 
dry  our  soaked  garments  over  a  brazier  of  coals,  and  gave 
up  all  hopes  of  proceeding  further  that  day. 

Aptera  ( Wingless)  derives  its  name  from  the  combat 
between  the  Sirens  and  the  Musos,  wherein  the  former 
were  stripped  of  their  wings,  and  plunging  into  the  sea, 
became  the  rocks  of  Leuca?,  which  lie  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Bay  of  Suda.  The  ruins  near  the  convent  are  those  of  cis- 
terns, undoubtedly  of  Roman  construction.  One  of  them 
is  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  with  a  branch  at 
right  angles.  Another  is  a  triple  vault,  in  a  nearly  perfect 
ptate,  its  walls  of  division  resting  on  four  arches  of  cut  stone 
On  inquiring  for  the  Cyclopean  walls,  the  priest  said  thej 


106  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

were  further  to  the  eastward.  Captain  Nikephoro  pat  OM 
his  thick  capote  to  koep  off  the  rain,  and  accompanied  us 
Along  the  brow  of  the  mountain,  for  the  distance  of  nearly 
half  a  mile  (which  was  as  far  as  we  traced  it),  runs  a 
polygonal  wall,  composed  of  huge  undressed  masses  of 
rock.  Its  breadth  is  seven  feet,  and  its  greatest  height 
r.welve,  the  upper  portion  having  been  either  thrown  down 
01  carried  off.  The  masonry,  though  massive,  is  rude,  and 
evidently  belongs  to  the  earliest  period. 

In  the  evening  a  mimber  of  peasants  came  hi  with  coins. 
Greek,  Roman  and  Venetian,  some  of  which  I  bought. 
Among  them  were  some  autonomous  coins  of  Aptera,  with 
a  bee  on  the  obverse.  The  most  of  them,  however,  were 
illegible,  and  held  by  their  finders  at  prices  far  above  their 
real  value.  We  occupied  the  priest's  bed  for  the  night, 
which  was  a  raised  platform  across  the  dry  end  of  the  room. 
The  sacerdotal  fleas  were  as  voracious  as  Capuchin  friars, 
and  though  they  were  distributed  over  four  persons  instead 
of  two,  they  murdered  sleep  none  the  less.  Next  morning 
the  rain  continued,  but  after  a  long  consultation  and  much 
delay,  we  set  out  for  Rhithymnos.  Riding  over  the  plain 
for  an  hour  or  more,  through  fine  old  orchards,  we  reached 
a  new  khan  about  the  breakfast  hour.  A  priest  and  some 
wayfarers  were  within,  smoking  their  narghilehs  and  drink- 
ing the  pale-red  Cretan  wine.  In  Crete  the  wine  is  not 
rosined,  as  in  Greece,  and  we  can  therefore  get  at  its 
natural  flavor,  which  is  fully  equal  to  that  of  the  ordinary 
wines  of  Spain.  I  much  prefer  it  to  the  renowned  wine  of 
Cyprus,  notwithstanding  Mrs.  Browning's  Bacchic  pnean  tc 
the-  latter.  In  Greece  the  wine  was  no  doubt  resinous  in 


A   CRETAN   JOURNEY.  107 

ancient  times.  The  pine-cone  topping  the  staff  of  Bacchue 
is  probably  one  symbol  of  the  fact.  By  adding  the  raw 
resin — which  is  collected  by  tapping  the  pine  trees — it  is 
not  only  more  easily  preserved,  but  may  be  increased  by  the 
addition  of  water.  It  is  a  most  wholesome  beverage,  but 
the  flavor,  to  an  unaccustomed  palate,  is  horrible. 

In  front  of  the  khan  a  silvery  waterfall  gleamed  through 
the  olive  trees,  and  Braisted  and  I  walked  thither,  accom- 
panied by  the  faithful  Sfakiote,  who  never  allowed  us  to 
get  out  of  his  sight.  The  place  reminded  me  of  the 
sources  of  the  Jordan,  at  Banias.  A  stream  large  enough 
to  drive  a  cotton  factory  gushed  out  of  the  earth  at  the 
foot  of  a  pile  of  rocks,  fell  over  a  mossy  dam,  and  rushed 
away  through  the  meadows  towards  the  sea.  Nikephoro 
informed  me,  however,  that  it  dries  up  in  summer.  Our 
road,  for  some  distance  after  leaving  the  khan,  was  a  mere 
scrambling  track  over  stony  ridges,  impassable  for  anything 
except  the  sure-footed  Cretan  mules.  Our  course  was  a 
remarkably  tortuous  one,  winding  hither  and  thither  with- 
out any  regard  to  the  direction  we  should  go.  We  at  last 
discovered  that  Anagnosti  was  as  ignorant  as  he  was  lazy, 
and  did  not  know  the  road.  Fran9ois  thereupon  took  fire 
with  his  usual  readiness,  and  we  had  a  storm  of  Greek  epi- 
thets. "  I  have  always  heard,"  said  he,  "  that  the  Cretan 
Turks  were  scamps,  but  now  I  see  that  it  is  the  Cretan 
Christians  who  are  so.  St.  Paul  told  the  truth  about  this 
lying  race." 

After  a  while  we  reached  an  old  monastery,  near  *  village 
called  Karidi  (The  Nut),  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  interior 
valleys.  The  houses  were  ruinous  and  half  deserted,  but 


108  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE   AND   EUSSIA. 

the  orange,  olive,  arid  carob  trees  were  of  fine  growth,  and 
the  barley  fields  of  unusual  richness.  In  another  hour  we 
came  upon  a  village  called  Exopolis,  on  the  brow  of  a  steep 
liill  overlooking  the  valley  of  Armyro.  A  dreary  rain  was 
.-etting  iu,  and  Hadji  Bey  declared  that  it  was  impossible  to 
reach  the  next  place  before  dark ;  so  we  took  up  our  quar- 
ters in  the  house  of  an  old  fellow  who  called  himself  the 
chief  of  the  village.  It  was  a  hut  of  stones  and  mud, 
without  a  window,  and  with  a  roof  through  which  the  rain 
leaked  in  little  streams ;  but  it  was  at  least  slightly  better 
than  out  of  doors.  There  were  much  better  houses  in  the 
village,  but  all  were  roofless  and  in  ruins.  Captain  Nike- 
phoro  accompanied  us  to  a  Turkish  tower  of  hewn  stone, 
whence  we  had  a  striking  view  of  the  wild  valley  below. 
Hadji  Bey  lodged  in  the  cafe,  a  dark,  wiudowless  hut, 
where  they  gave  us  cups  of  burnt  barley  for  coffee.  Some 
Musselmans  and  Christians  were  within,  disputing  violently, 
in  loud,  screaming  voices.  The  Cretans  are  the  most  argu- 
mentative people  in  the  world.  We  cannot  ask  the  simplest 
question  without  getting  a  different  opinion  from  every  by- 
stander, and  thereupon  ensues  a  discussion,  in  which  every- 
body is  edified  except  ourselves.  The  people  informed  us 
that  they  had  had  snow  and  rain  for  a  hundred  days  previ- 
ous— a  thing  unheard  of  iu  the  island.  Many  of  the  oldest 
olive  trees,  as  we  had  occasion  to  notice,  had  been  broken 
down  by  the  weight  of  the  snow  upon  their  limbs,  and  9 
great  number  of  sheep  and  goats  had  perished. 

The  captain  was  probably  the  richest  man  in  the  village. 
His  wealth  consisted  of  a  field  of  barley,  four  sheep,  five 
goats,  four  pigs,  and  an  ass.  He  was  about  seventy  yeare 


A   CRETAN   JOURNEY.  109 

t  Id,  had  a  gray  beard,  but  his  youngest  child  was  only  five. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  exhibited  a  laudable  curiosity  to  learn 
the  customs  of  the  eklambrotati  (Their  Brilliancies !)  the 
\asilikoi  anihropoi  (Royal  Men),  who  had  honored  his  hut 
with  their  presence.  They  took  care  to  be  on  hand  when 
we  undressed,  and  they  came  and  went  so  frequently  during 
the  night  as  to  disturb  our  rest  materially,  but  I  discovered 
an  evidence  of  their  attention  in  the  morning,  on  finding 
that  I  was  covered  with  various  dirty  garments,  placed 
under  the  holes  in  the  roof,  to  intercept  the  droppings.  In 
the  morning  the  woman  came  up  to  me,  suddenly  fell  upon 
her  knees,  kissed  my  muddy  boots,  and  then  arose  and 
kissed  my  hand,  before  I  fairly  noticed  what  she  was  about. 
I  gave  little  Levteri,  who  sat  in  the  chimney-corner,  a  piece 
of  money,  whereupon  he  did  the  same  thing,  and  his  lao- 
ther  said :  "  May  God  permit  you  to  enjoy  your  sove- 
reignty many  years  I" 

When  we  arose  it  was  still  raining,  slowly,  steadily,  dis- 
mally. It  was  evident  that  we  must  renounce  all  hope  of 
visiting  Sfakia,  for  in  such  weather  the  single  road  into 
that  region  was  already  impassable.  We  therefore  dis^ 
charged  Captain  Nikephoro,  who  had  been  detailed  for  this 
special  service,  parting  with  the  splendid  fellow  with  genuine 
regret.  Hadji  Bey,  also,  was  disinclined  to  set  out.  It 
was  quite  natural  that  he  should  wish  to  make  things  as 
easy  as  possible ;  he  was  travelling  for  our  pleasure,  not 
his  ;wn.  However,  I  determined  to  get  into  good  quarters 
at  Rhithymnos,  and  as  soon  as  the  rain  held  up  a  little,  the 
mules  were  packed  in  spite  of  Aimgnosti's  curses,  and  we 
set  out.  Descending  the  hill  by  a  frightful  path,  alternate 


110  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

rock  and  quagmire,  we  reached  the  river  of  Armyro  The 
remains  of  an  old  Venetian  fortress  are  upon  its  banks,  and 
a  short  distance  further  a  Turkish  castle,  mosque  and  khan, 
dismantled  and  deserted.  Even  here,  on  the  sea-level,  the1 
•mow  had  made  great  havoc  among  the  olive  trees.  Finally 
',re  emerged  upon  the  sea-shore,  where  the  sand  and  peb 
bles  made  better  footing  for  our  mules,  but  the  north-east 
wind,  laden  with  rain,  swept  upon  us  with  full  force. 
Hadji  Bey  and  the  muleteers  were  in  constant  alarm  during 
this  part  of  our  journey,  assuring  us  that  the  Sfakiotes,  who 
live  during  the  winter  in  the  neighboring  village  of  Dra- 
mia,  frequently  pounce  upon  and  plunder  travellers.  "  But 
you  need  not  be  afraid  of  them  on  such  a  day  as  this,"  I 
suggested.  "  Oh,  this  is  just  the  weather  they  choose  for 
their  attacks,"  said  the  Bey.  By  the  shore  large  timbers 
had  been  collected,  for  the  purpose,  we  were  told,  of  build- 
ing a  mud  machine  for  the  port  of  Khania.  At  last  we 
struck  the  hills  again,  which  here  thrust  out  a  bold,  rocky 
promontory,  the  base  of  which  the  sea  has  gnawed  into  a 
thousand  fantastic  forms. 

After  scrambling  for  some  time  over  the  insteps  of  the 
hills,  we  reached  a  tremendous  gorge,  cleft  into  their  ver) 
In-art,  down  the  bottom  of  which  rushed  a  rapid  stream 
Near  the  sea  were  the  abutments  of  a  massive  sloping 
bridge,  the  arch  of  which  was  entirely  gone.  It  had  the 
ippearance  of  having  been  overthrown  by  an  earthquake, 
xnil  Hadji  Bey  informed  me  that  it  was  entire  only  sixty 
years  ago.  We  were  now  upon  the  track  of  an  ancient 
road,  fragments  of  the  pavement  of  which  we  saw  in 
places.  The  gorge  was  inclosed  by  precipices  of  blue  lime- 


A   CBETAX   JOURNEY.  Ill 

stone  rock,  whose  fronts  were  stained  with  brignt  orange 
colored  oxydations.  In  color  and  outline  the  picture  was 
puperb.  The  geological  formation  of  Crete  is  a  continua- 
tion of  that  of  the  mainland  of  Greece,  the  rock  being 
principally  the  same  palombino,  or  dove-colored  limestone. 
Our  road  beyond  this  was  the  next  thing  to  imprac- 
ticable. The  rock,  channeled  and  honeycombed  every- 
where by  the  action  of  water,  was  worn  into  a  series  of 
deep  holes,  filled  with  soft  mud,  in  and  out  of  which  our 
mules  plunged.  On  every  headland  stood  a  ruined  watch- 
tower,  of  the  Venetian  or  Turkish  tunes.  After  more  than 
two  hours  of  this  travel,  we  caught  sight  of  the  fortress  of 
Rhithymnos,  crowning  a  projecting  cape  some  distance 
ahead.  Two  minarets  and  a  palm-tree,  rising  above  the 
gray  houses  of  the  town,  relieved  the  view  a  little,  but  had 
it  been  ten  times  more  dismal,  the  sight  would  have  been  a 
welcome  one  to  us,  in  our  cold,  sore,  and  hungry  condition. 
Soon  afterwards  we  came  to  a  very  wild  and  deep  ravine, 
spanned  by  a  bridge  of  a  double  row  of  arches,  one  above 
the  other — undoubtedly  a  Roman  work.  We  now  struck 
upon  the  new  road,  which  fully  justified  Vely  PasliaV 
description.  It  was  a  broad,  solid,  substantial,  Englis)i 
highway,  even  better  than  the  wants  of  the  island  demand 
iwo  or  three  hundred  men  were  at  work,  hauling  tin: 
broken  stone  in  hand-cars,  or  breaking  them  in  the  sheltei 
if  natural  caves  in  the  side  of  the  hill.  We  pressed  on, 
passed  the  village  of  lepers,  whose  houses  are  stuck  like 
t.  wallows'  nests  in  the  interstices  of  a  solitary  mass  of  rock, 
and  at  length  entered  the  town  by  a  long,  low,  gloomy 
gate. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

OUB     IMPRISONMENT     AT     RHITHYMNO8. 

WE  looked  upon  Rhithymnos  as  a  port  of  refuge  after  OUT 
stormy  journey,  and  it  was  therefore  a  matter  of  some 
importance  to  decide  where  we  should  go.  The  Pasha 
had  given  me  letters  to  the  Turkish  Governor  and  the 
Greek  Bishop.  As  a  Protestant,  I  was  equally  an  infidel 
in  the  eyes  of  both,  but  the  Turk  is  more  hospitable  than 
the  Greek,  everywhere,  and  the  Bishop,  besides,  was  fa- 
mishing in  the  leanness  of  his  Lent;  so  I  directed  Hadji 
Bey  to  conduct  us  to  the  Governor.  We  passed  through  a 
street  of  bazaars,  wholly  Moslem  in  appearance,  and  soon 
reached  the  residence  of  the  Kdimdkan,  Khalim  Bey,  neai 
the  port.  He  was  absent  at  the  Council,  but  a  servant — 
at  a  hint  from  our  Hadji — conducted  us  to  a  large,  unfi- 
nished room,  one-half  of  which  was  a  daYs,  covered  with 
straw  matting,  and  had  our  baggage  brought  up. 

Soon  afterwards  the  Governor  arrived.  He  was  a  stout 
man  of  about  fifty,  with  an  open,  pleasant  countenance. 
He  was  a  native  of  Monastir,  in  Macedonia,  but  hn<J 


OUR   IMPRISONMENT   AT   RHITHYAINOS.  ll.J 

served  in  Syria  and  Egypt,  and  even  spent  some  months 
in  Paris.  He  shook  hands  cordially,  ushered  us  into 
his  divan,  a  low,  barely-furnished  room,  and  then  read 
the  Pasha's  letter.  I  begged  him  to  assist  us  in  obtain 
ing  lodgings  in  the  town,  but  he  declared  at  once  that 
he  would  be  greatly  mortified  if  we  thought  of  leaving 
his  house.  He  considered  us  his  guests,  and  would  feel 
highly  honored  if  we  would  accept  such  poor  quarters 
as  he  could  give,  so  long  as  we  might  choose  to  stay. 
After  making  all  allowance  for  Oriental  exaggeration, 
there  was  still  enough  left  to  justify  us  in  accepting 
the  Governor's  hospitable  offer.  Fran9ois  managed  to 
hint  delicately  to  him  that  we  were  almost  famished,  and 
an  early  dinner  would  be  very  acceptable.  Coffee  and 
pipes  were  at  once  ordered,  and  repeated  again,  with  many 
apologies  for  the  delay,  for  a  long  time  elapsed  before 
dinner  was  announced.  The  table  was  set  in  our  room,  in 
quite  the  European  style,  with  two  large  bottles  of  red 
Cretan  wine.  The  meal  was  plentiful  and  good,  although 
the  dishes  were  mostly  Turkish.  We  had  soup,  pillau, 
wild  fennel,  stewed  in  oil,  a  salad  of  spinach,  kid  with  a 
sauce  of  eggs  and  lemon  juice,  and  yaourt,  which  I  had  not 
seen  since  my  pilgrimage  through  Asia  Minor. 

We  retired  to  chibouks  and  coffee  in  the  divan,  and  then 
ensued  a  long  conversation  between  the  Governor  and 
Fran9ois,  in  alternate  Turkish  and  Greek.  I  understood 
enough  of  the  latter  language  to  see  that  F.'s  remarks  were 
dexterously  turned  to  our  advantage.  He  spoke  of  us  as 
Beyzadehs,  or  hereditary  Beys.  After  giving  an  account 
of  our  visit  to  Khania  and  the  very  hospitable  reception  of 


114  TBAVELS   IN   GREECE    AND   RUSSIA. 

the  Pasha,  he  related  our  former  travels  in  the  East,  and 
added  something  about  my  journeys  in  various  parts  of  the 
world.  The  Governor  was  much  pleased  to  learn  that  I 
was  more  interested  in  the  country,  its  productions  and 
people,  than  in  its  antiquities,  concerning  which  he  seemed 
to  entertain  no  very  high  opinion.  "  But  is  that  the  Bey- 
zadeh's  only  object  in  travelling  ?"  he  asked.  "  Does  he 
not  get  tired  of  going  about  the  world  so  much  ?"  "  Tell 
his  Excellency,"  said  I,  "  that  there  is  nothing  better  than 
to  know,  from  personal  experience,  the  different  nations  of 
the  earth ;  to  learn  their  languages,  to  observe  their  cha- 
racter, habits,  and  laws,  and  thus  to  find  out  what  is  good 
in  each."  "  Mashallah,  but  that  is  true  enough,"  was  the 
answer. 

"  And  then,"  added  Fran9ois,  "  whatever  the  Beyzadeh 
sees,  or  hears,  or  experiences,  during  the  day,  he  writes 
down  at  night.  Every  day  he  writes,  and  takes  all  the 
papers  home  with  him.  You  should  just  see  him  write ! 
It  would  take  three  men  to  keep  pace  with  him — his  pen 
goes  so  fast.  He  has  made  more  than  sixty  thousand 
books,  all  about  his  travels."  "  Stop !"  said  I,  "  explain  to 
the  Governor  that  I  have  written  six  books  only,  but  that 
perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  thousand  copies  of  each  have  been 
printed  and  sold."  " Pold  prdgmata /"  (great  things! 
ejaculated  the  Governor.  "  But,"  inquired  the  Secretary, 
"  what  does  he  make  these  books  for  ?  why  are  so  many 
of  them  sold?"  "Don't  you  see,"  said  Fran9ois,  "that 
there  are  many  millions  of  persons  in  America  who  cannot 
go  over  the  world  as  the  Beyzadeh  does,  but  they  want  tc 
know  about  other  countries.  Now,  when  they  buy  one  of 


ODK   IMPRISONMENT   AT    RHITHYMNOS.  115 

ihese  books,  they  find  in  it  all  the  papers  which  the  Bey 
zadeh  writes  every  night,  and  they  know  just  as  much  as 
he  does."  The  Governor  exhibited  much  more  than  the 
ordinary  Turkish  intelligence,  and  was  exceedingly  curious 
to  hear  all  the  news  of  the  world.  Fortunately,  he  had 
consideration  enough  to  retire  early  to  his  harem,  and  leave 
ns  to  our  beds. 

On  the  morrow,  it  still  rained,  in  the  same  dreary,  hope- 
less, manner.  The  first  thing  we  did  was  to  discharge  our 
lazy,  ignorant,  insolent  Anagnosti,  and  his  mules.  He  was 
rogue  enough  to  demand  more  than  the  price  agreed  upon 
in  Khania,  which  was  double  what  I  had  paid  in  Syria  for 
horses.  We  counted  out  the  proper  sum,  which  he  scorn 
fully  left  lying  upon  the  table,  went  out  and  got  drunk, 
and  then  came  back  and  took  it.  During  a  pause  in  the 
rain,  the  Governor  sent  a  Serjeant  with  us  to  show  us  the 
fortress,  one  of  those  massive,  irregular  Venetian  affairs, 
for  the  construction  of  which  lands  were  ruined  and  people 
robbed  and  starved.  Over  the  gate,  and  in  panels  on 
every  bastion,  was  the  proud  lion  of  St.  Mark,  his  head  in 
every  instance  knocked  off  by  the  Tui'ks.  Splendid  bronze 
guns  lay  dismounted  on  the  ramparts,  and  even  the  neg- 
lected walls  were  cracking  and  falling  in  pieces.  The 
amount  of  labor  and  treasure  expended  by  Venice  on 
fortifications  is  almost  incredible.  No  wonder  that  the 
oppressed  Cretans  joyfully  hailed  the  Turks  as  deliverers! 
from  her  iron  rule.  We  shed  poetic  tears  over  her  fall — 
we  prate  of  Turkish  barbarism,  Turkish  oppression,  Turkish 
vandalism,  when  it  is  really  Venice  that  has  despoiled  and 
impoverished  the  J^evant.  Thank  God  that  she  has  fallen,1 


118  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

say  I.  Behead  the  winged  lion — let  the  harlot,  not  the 
bride  of  the  sea,  sit  in  her  ruined  palaces,  and  lament,  like 
Tyre,  for  the  galleys  that  come  no  more,  bringing  tribute 
to  her  lust  1 

The  Governor  issued  from  his  harem  at  an  early  hoiu 
and  came  to  join  us  at  coffee.  He  had  a  China  service, 
and  gave  us  Turkish  zerfs  of  delicate  silver  filagree  work, 
as  egg-cups.  We  had  also  hot  milk  with  our  coffee,  and 
crisp  rolls,  covered  with  grains  of  sesame.  I  was  a  little  sur- 
prised to  find  that  his  habits  were  so  much  Europeanized,  but 
the  truth  leaked  out  that  he  was  only  imitating  French  cus- 
toms temporarily,  on  our  account,  the  cups,  plates,  spoons, 
&c.,  being  borrowed  for  the  occasion,  some  of  one  person 
and  sonie^  of  another.  Two  lieutenants  of  gend'armes,  in 
their  uniform,  acted  as  waiters,  getting  free  board  in  the 
Governor's  house,  in  consideration  of  their  services.  Their 
wages  were  150  and  300  piastres  ($6  and  f  12)  a  month. 
At  midday  we  had  a  breakfast,  consisting  of  as  many 
courses  as  the  dinner,  and  composed  of  the  same  dishes. 

I  sent  my  letter  of  introduction  to  the  Bishop,  or  Despot, 
as  he  is  termed.  He  was  ill  with  rheumatism  or  gout,  but 
sent  word  that  he  would  receive  us  in  the  afternoon.  The 
Governor  politely  accompanied  us  to  his  residence.  He 
was  a  stout,  plethoric  fellow  of  sixty,  with  large  gray  eyes, 
a  venerable  gray  beard,  and  a  countenance  which  expressed 
intelligence,  shrewdness,  and  coldness.  We  were  enter- 
tained with  preserved  quinces  and  water,  followe  I  by  pipes 
and  coffee.  The  conversation  related  principally  to  his 
ailment,  and  is  not  worth  repeating.  Frai^ois  was  rather 
scandalized  because  I  ignorantly  used  J,he  ordinary  Greek 


OUR   IMPRISONMENT   AT   RHITHYMNOS.  11? 

form  of  address,  "e  eugeneia  sas"  (your  nobility)  instead 
of  "  your  holiness,"  in  speaking  to  him.  The  attendants 
were  young  priests  in  apostolic  hair  and  blue  velvet  jackets. 
The  Despot  was  evidently  suffering,  and  we  made  but  a 
hort  stay,  congratulating  ourselves,  as  we  left,  that  we 
bad  made  choice  of  the  Governor  for  our  host. 

Towards  evening,  we  received  a  visit  from  Mr.  Wood 
ward,  the  English  engineer  who  had  charge  of  the  new 
road.  He  had  been  a  year  and  a  half  in  Crete,  and  seemed 
very  glad  to  get  a  chance  of  speaking  his  own  language 
again.  His  account  of  the  people  went  very  far  to  confirm 
my  own  impressions.  They  are  violently  opposed  to  im- 
provement of  any  kind,  and  the  road,  especially,  excited 
their  bitterest  hostility.  They  stole  his  flag-poles,  tried  to 
break  his  instruments,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  attack 
his  person.  He  was  obliged  to  carry  on  the  work  under 
the  protection  of  a  company  of  Albanian  soldiers.  The 
Cretans,  he  stated,  are  conceited  and  disputatious  in  their 
character,  to  an  astonishing  degree.  His  greatest  difficulty 
with  the  laborers  on  the  road  was  their  unwillingness  to 
be  taught  anything,  as  it  wounds  their  vanity  to  confess 
that  they  do  not  know  it  already.  They  even  advised  him 
how  to  use  his  instruments.  If  a  stone  was  to  be  lifted, 
every  man  gave  his  advice  as  to  the  method,  and  the  day 
would  have  been  spent  in  discussing  the  different  proposals, 
If  he  had  not  cut  them  short  by  threatening  to  fine  every 
man  who  uttered  another  word.  Their  pockets  are  the 
most  sensitive  portion  of  their  bodies,  and  even  vanity 
gives  way  to  preserve  them.  The  law  obliged  the  population 
of  u.ich  district,  in  turn,  to  work  nine  days  annually  upon 


118  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

the  road,  or  commute  at  the  rate  of  six  piastres  a  day 
This  was  by  no  means  an  oppressive  measure,  yet  men 
worth  their  hundreds  of  thousands  were  found  in  the  ranks 
of  the  laborers,  in  order  to  save  the  slight  tax.  Some  of 
the  villages  were  just  beginning  to  see  the  advantage  of 
the  road,  and,  had  a  few  miles  been  completed,  the  engi- 
neer thought  the  opposition  would  be  greatly  diminished. 
Nothing  but  an  enlightened  despotism  can  accomplish  any 
good  with  such  a  population. 

Ill  the  evening,  the  British  Consular  Agent,  an  Ionian 
Greek,  paid  us  a  visit,  and  there  was  a  long  fumarium  in 
the  Governor's  divan.  The  Agent,  waxing  confidential, 
began  explaining  to  the  Governor,  how  it  was  possible  to 
cheat  in  selling  oil.  "  When  you  buy  your  oil,"  said  he, 
"  get  the  largest  cask  you  can  find — the  very  largest  that 
is  made — and  fill  it.  You  must  have  it  standing  on  end, 
with  the  cock  quite  at  the  bottom.  When  you  sell  an  oka 
of  it,  the  pressure  forces  it  out  in  a  very  strong  stream ;  it 
becomes  inflated  with  air,  and  the  measure  is  filled  with  a 
less  quantity  of  oil.  You  can  make  a  gain  of  three  per 
cent,  in  this  way."  He  then  went  on  to  describe  othe. 
methods  by  which,  all  together,  the  gain  might  be  in- 
creased to  fifteen  or  twenty  per  cent.  Fran9ois  becoming 
.mpatient,  cried  out :  "  Now  I  see  that  the  ancient 
Greeks  were  perfectly  right,  in  having  the  same  god  foi 
merchants  and  thieves !"  The  Governor  laughed  heartily, 
but  the  Agent,  considerably  nettled,  exclaimed :  "  Do  you 
mean  to  speak  of  me  as  a  thief?"  "  No,"  answered 
Fran9ois,  with  the  greatest  coolness ;  "  I  speak  of  you  as 
a  merchant."  At  this  the  Governor  laughed  still  more 


OUR   IMPRISONMENT   IN   RHITHYMNO8.  119 

loudly,  and  the  discomfited  Agent  was  obliged,  by  Oriental 
politeness,  to  laugh  too. 

The  same  person  attacked  Fran§ois  violently  for  hia 
disbelief  in  the  annual  Easter  miracle  at  Jerusalem,  pro 
claiming  that  the  fire  actually  came  down  from  Heavtn, 
and  none  but  an  infidel  could  doubt  it.  The  belief  in  this 
blasphemous  imposture,  I  may  here  remark,  is  almost  uni 
versal  among  the  Greeks.  F.,  who  has  a  hearty  detesta- 
tion of  all  Christian  paganism,  broke  out  with,  "  A  miracle, 
indeed  !  I  can  perform  as  great  a  miracle  with  a  lucifer 
match.  Ask  the  patriarch  of  Jerusalem  if  he  knows  what 
phosphorus  is  !  If  he  can  turn  Mount  Ida  into  a  lump  of 
cheese,  so  that  we  can  ah1  cut  from  it  as  long  as  we  like,  I 
should  call  that  a  miracle  worth  something — but  you  go  to 
Jerusalem  and  pay  fire  hundred  dollars  to  save  your  soul, 
by  lighting  a  candle  at  his  lying  bit  of  wax  !"  The  Gover- 
nor, who  had  been  at  Jerusalem,  enjoyed  the  dispute,  until 
he  found  the  parties  were  getting  too  much  excited,  when 
he  adroitly  changed  the  subject. 

On  Monday  morning  the  weather  changed,  but  for  the 
worse.  A  violent  storm  of  wind  and  rain  set  in,  which 
continued  the  whole  day  and  night,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  next  day,  making  us  compulsory  guests  of  the 
Governor.  I  was  at  first  rather  embarrassed  at  this  long 
trespass  upon  his  hospitality,  but  finding  he  was  quite 
wealthy,  and  judging  that  our  visit  was  rather  a  pleasant 
interruption  to  the  monotony  of  his  life,  than  otherwise, 
resigned  myself  to  our  fate.  His  kindness  and  courtesy, 
in  fact,  never  flagged,  and  we  should  have  been  much 
more  comfortable  had  he  been  less  anxious  to  show  ua 


120  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

attention.  After  coffee,  we  must  sit  in  his  divan  until  the 
nour  for  Council  arrived.  On  his  return  therefrom,  he 
sent  to  let  us  know,  and  ask  if  we  would  not  take  a  pipe 
with  him.  The  afternoon  was  passed  in  the  same  manner 
and  the  evening  devoted  entirely  to  pipes  and  conversa- 
tion. Our  room  was  so  cold  and  leaky,  that  our  only  alter 
native  was  the  divan  and  its  restraints.  Seeing,  on  Tues- 
lay,  that  there  was  no  hope  of  change  in  the  weather,  T 
I  roposed  to  engage  mules  for  Megalokastron,  or  Candia, 
but  the  Governor  refused  to  send  for  them.  "  What  would 
the  Pasha  say,"  said  he,  "  if  I  should  let  you  depart  now  ? 
No,  you  are  here,  and  here  you  shall  stay  until  the  weather 
is  better."  On  the  fifth  morning,  finally,  when  the  storm 
had  somewhat  abated,  although  a  heavy  sea  thundered  on 
the  beach,  I  prevailed  upon  him  to  order  mules  for  us. 

With  the  aid  of  Fra^ois,  I  managed  to  give  the  Gover- 
nor a  tolerably  clear  idea  of  our  country  and  its  form  of 
government,  and  to  obtain  from  him,  in  return,  some  infor- 
mation concerning  the  administration  of  Crete.  The  only 
tax,  it  appears,  is  that  paid  in  kind,  by  the  agricultural 
population — one-tenth  of  the  produce.  Not  only  is  there 
no  direct  tax  on  real  estate,  but  trade  of  ah1  kinds  is  entirely 
exempt,  and  pays  nothing.  In  Greece,  the  burdens  are 
much  heavier,  fen-  the  agricultural  tax  is  the  same,  and  in 
addition,  all  sorts  of  trades  and  occupations  are  made  to 
pay  heavily  for  their  license.  The  revenue  of  Crete  is 
about  hah0  a  million  of  dollars  annually,  which  is  just  about 
sufficient  to  pay  the  expenses  of  its  Government.  AVere  a 
just  and  equal  system  of  taxation  introduced,  the  revenue 
Anight  be  doubled  without  oppressing  the  people  Thfl 


OUR   IMPRISONMENT   IN   BHITHYMNOS.  121 

direct  tendency  of  the  present  system  is  to  discourage  th€ 
most  important  branch  of  industry.  Crete  is  one  of  the 
richest  islands  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  there  is  no  reason 
why  it  should  not  support  now,  as  it  once  did,  a  population 
of  a  million. 

We  often  hear  it  stated  that  the  reforms  which  the  Sul- 
tan has  sanctioned,  are  only  so  many  paper  proclamations, 
which  are  never  actually  put  in  force.  This  has  been  very 
much  the  case  in  European  Turkey  and  Asia-Minor,  here- 
tofore, but  a  new  order  of  things  is  commencing.  The 
Hattihumayoon,  or  bill  of  Religious  Liberty,  promulgated 
just  two  years  previous,  was  in  full  force  in  Crete  at  the 
time  of  my  visit.  Singularly  enough,  the  greatest  opposi- 
tion to  it  arose  from  the  Christian,  not  the  Turkish,  popu- 
lation. A  conspiracy  was  already  on  foot  to  procure  the 
removal  of  Vely  Pasha,  because  while  he  had  allowed  two 
hundred  and  forty  families  of  Cretan  Turks  to  embrace 
Christianity,  he  had  protected  some  five  or  six  Christians 
who  voluntarily  became  Moslems,  from  the  fanaticism  of 
the  Greek  mob.  "  In  Europe,''  said  he  to  me,  "  we  are 
called  fanatical  and  intolerant,  but  I  sincerely  think  we  are 
less  so  than  the  Oriental  Christians.  I  consider  the  Hatti- 
humayoon a  just  and  necessary  measure,  and  am  deter 
mined  to  keep  it  in  force,  and  it  is  discouraging  to  find 
that  the  very  people  who  are  the  most  benefited  by  it,  con- 
spire  to  thwart  me."  He  had  given,  under  the  Sultan's 
direction,  100,000  piastres  towards  the  building  of  the  new 
Greek  Cathedral  in  Khania.  What  Christian  government 
ever  helped  to  build  a  mosque  ?  What  Catholic  country 
«ver  gave  funds  to  a  Protestant  Church  ?  Let  us,  hered* 


122  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

tary  Pharisees   that  we  are,  learn  a  lesson  of  Christiai 
tolerance  from  the  infidel ! 

On  the  sixth  morning  we  broke  away  from  Rhithymnoi- 
against  the  good  Governor's  will.  But  five  days  had 
exhausted  our  patience,  and  some  gleams  of  sunshine, 
touching  with  gold  the  solitary  snowy  cone  of  the  Cretan 
Ida,  set  us  in  motion.  Our  destination  was  the  Grotto  oi 
Melidoni,  then  the  ruins  of  Gortynna,  and  the  conjectTired 
site  of  the  famous  Labyrinth. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  CAVERNS,  MOUNTAINS,  AND  LABfRINrQE 
OP   CRETE. 

THE  village  of  Melidoni,  where  we  stopped  on  the  after- 
noon of  our  departure  from  Rhithymnos,  lies  in  the  midst 
of  a  very  beautiful  and  fertile  valley,  between  Mount  Ida 
and  a  group  of  barren  hills  on  the  coast.  It  was  a  very 
flourishing  place  before  the  Revolution,  but  is  now  for  the 
most  part  a  heap  of  ruins.  The  houses  are  built  on  a  flat 
foundation  of  solid  rock.  We  threaded  the  narrow  lanes 
to  a  sort  of  cafe,  where  a  group  of  lazy  villagers  were  col- 
lected, and  waited  while  Hadji  Bey  went  off  to  summon  the 
Governor.  The  latter  came  after  a  while,  looking  flushed 
and  bewildered;  he  had  been  drunk,  and  was  trying  to 
appear  as  if  he  had  not  been.  He  was  quite  a  young  man 
and  a  brother  of  one  of  the  Pasha's  secretaries.  He  imme- 
diately treated  us  to  coffee  of  burnt  barley,  and  then  con- 
ducted us  to  his  house,  which  had  an  upper  room,  dry  and 
tolerably  decent.  It  was  too  late  to  visit  the  celebrated 
grotto  of  Melidoni,  which  is  in  the  side  of  a  mountain  tc 


124  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

the  westward,  so  I  went  upon  the  house-top,  and  succeeded 
in  getting  a  sketch  of  Mount  Ida,  between  the  showers  of 
rain.  It  rose  in  one  splendid,  sweeping  peak  of  unbroken 
snow,  from  a  base  of  lower  summits,  girdling  the  central 
cone.  Under  these,  again,  were  bare  and  bleak  masses, 
glooming  blue  and  purple  in  the  shadows  of  heavy  clouds, 
while  Ida  shone  with  an  angry  lustre  in  the  streaks  of  sun- 
set light  which  came  and  went,  as  we  gazed.  This  was  our 
only  near  view  of  the  glorious  mountain,  though  we  after- 
wards  scaled  many  of  its  rugged  buttresses. 

Ismail  Bey,  the  Governor,  gave  us  a  good  dinner  in  the 
evening,  with  many  apologies  that  he  could  not  entertain 
us  more  worthily.  The  Greek  priest  and  some  subordinate 
officials  came  to  pay  their  respects,  and  the  former  very 
courteously  assisted  the  servants  in  waiting  upon  the  table. 
His  own  fare  was  confined  to  olives  and  some  of  our  caviar, 
but  he  drank  his  share  of  the  wine,  and  heaped  our  platfiS 
with  the  forbidden  flesh.  We  had  already  given  up  eating 
ham,  except  in  a  raw  state,  out  of  consideration  for  Hadji 
Bey,  who  was  nearly  starved  whenever  we  had  any  of  it 
cooked.  Noticing- that  he  looked  with  a  longing  eye  at  the 
wine,  Fran9ois  offered  him  a  glass.  He  had  previously 
declined,  like  a  good  Mussulman,  but  this  time  he  said,  "  It' 
you  will  not  report  it  at  Khania,''  and  swallowed  the  beve- 
rage with  great  satisfaction.  The  most  genial  and  fraternal 
spirit  pervaded  the  party,  and  there  was  every  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  what  I  had  heard — that  the  Christians  and 
Turks  of  Crete,  in  the  villages,  live  together  in  the  most 
amicable  manner.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish  them, 
outwardly.  Many  of  the  Turks  have  Christian  names,  and 


THE   CAVERNS,    MOUNTAINS,   ETC.,    OF   CRETE.  126 

even  have  their  children  baptized  by  the  Christian  priests. 
There  is  little  of  that  bitterness  of  feeling  between  them 
which  exists  in  other  parts  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  In  the 
course  of  the  evening,  the  priest  asked  me :  "  Did  Youi 
Brilliancies  come  to  Crete  in  your  own  steamer,  or  did  you 
hire  one  of  the  Austrians?"  The  Governor  gave  us  his 
own  bed,  and  retired  to  lodge  in  a  friend's  house. 

He  was  very  anxious  that  I  should  take  his  portrait,  and 
I  could  do  no  less  than  comply,  in  the  morning.  The  like- 
ness was  admitted  by  all  the  villagers  to  be  very  good,  but 
he  was  greatly  disappointed  because  I  did  not  represent 
his  light-blue  undercoat,  which  was  covered  by  another  of 
a  darker  color  !  His  secretary,  a  Christian,  stood  near  me, 
and  very  kindly  suggested  what  colors  I  should  use.  Some 
drawings  of  seaports  which  he  had  made  were  pasted  on 
the  walls,  and,  thinking  that  he  might  have  some  little 
talent  that  way,  I  explained  to  him  that  his  houses  should  be 
made  with  upright  lines,  or  they  would  appear  to  be  tum- 
bling down ;  but  no,  he  knew  better,  the  houses  were  right. 
He  knew  all  about  drawing,  and  nobody  could  teach  him 
anything. 

We  walked  up  to  the  cave  in  the  rain,  accompanied  by 
three  or  four  of  the  villagers.  Notwithstanding  the 
entrance  is  in  full  view  from  the  valley,  they  lost  their  way 
in  climbing  the  mountain.  The  grotto  of  Melidoni  is  said 
to  be  almost  equal,  in  extent  and  beauty,  to  that  of  Anti 
paros.  It  was  dedicated  of  old  to  the  Taliban  Hermes,  in 
an  inscription  which  is  said  still  to  exist,  near  the  entrance, 
although  I  looked  in  vain  for  it.  In  modern  times,  it  has 
obtained  a  melancholy  notoriety  from  the  fete  of  the  inha 


126  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

bitants  of  Melidoni,  who  took  refuge  in  it  during  +he  rebel 
lion  against  the  Turks.  In  1822,  when  Hussein  Bej 
marched  upon  the  village,  the  inhabitants,  to  tne  nurabei 
of  three  hundred,  took  refuge  in  the  cave,  taking  with 
them  their  valuables,  and  provisions  sufficient  for  six 
months.  The  entrance  is  so  narrow  and  steep  that  they 
were  perfectly  secured  against  an  attack,  and  the  Turks, 
in  their  first  attempt,  lost  twenty-five  men.  Finding  that 
they  refused  submission  on  any  terms,  Hussein  Bey  ordered 
a  quantity  of  combustibles  to  be  brought  to  the  entrance 
and  set  on  fire.  The  smoke,  rolling  into  the  cavern  in 
immense  volumes,  drove  the  miserable  fugitives  into  the 
remoter  chambers,  where  they  lingered  a  little  while  longer, 
but  were  all  eventually  suffocated.  The  Turks  waited 
some  days,  but  still  did  not  dare  to  enter,  and  a  Greek 
captive  was  finally  sent  down,  on  the  promise  of  his  life 
being  spared.  The  Turks  then  descended  and  plundered 
the  bodies.  A  week  afterwards,  three  natives  of  the  village 
stole  into  the  cavern  to  see  what  had  become  of  their 
friends  and  relatives.  It  is  said  that  they  were  so  over- 
come by  the  terrible  spectacle,  that  two  of  them  died 
within  a  few  days.  Years  afterwards,  when  the  last  ves- 
tiges of  the  insurrection  had  been  suppressed,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Crete  blessed  the  cavern,  making  it  consecrated 
ground,  and  the  tones  of  the  victims  were  gathered  together 
and  partially  covered  up,  in  the  outer  chamber. 

After  crawling  under  the  low  arch  of  the  entrance,  we 
found  ourselves  at  the  top  of  a  very  steep  and  slippery 
plane,  about  fifty  yards  in  depth.  The  descent  was  a  in:it- 
tor  requiring  precaution,  especially  as  the  vaulted  roof  kepi 


THE   CAVJSKNS,    MOUNTAINS,    ETC.,    O»    CBBTE.  12< 

the  same  level,  and  our  wax  tapers  were  more  and  moit 
feeble  in  the  yawning  gloom.  At  last,  we  reached  a  level 
floor,  aud  found  ourselves  in  a  vast  eUiptical  hall,  about 
eighty  feet  in  height,  and  propped  in  the  centre  by  an 
enormous  stalactitic  pillar.  On  all  sides,  the  stalactites 
hung  like  fluted  curtains  from  the  very  roof,  here  in  broad, 
sheeted  masses,  there  dropping  into  single  sharp  folds,  but 
all  on  a  scale  of  Titanic  grandeur.  As  our  eyes  became 
accustomed  to  the  gloom,  the  roof  expanded  into  loftiei 
arches,  and  through  the  Gothic  portals  opening  on  our  left 
gleamed  spectrally  the  pillars  of  deeper  halls.  Rounded 
bases  of  stalagmite  arose  on  all  sides,  some  almost  within 
reach  of  the  giant  icicles  which  grew  downward  to  meet 
them,  while  a  few  others  had  already  touched,  and  re« 
sembled  a  water-spout,  the  column  of  which  is  about  to 
part  in  the  middle.  Under  these  grand  and  silent  arches, 
under  the  black  banners  of  eternal  Night,  lay  heaped  the 
mouldering  skulls  and  bones  of  the  poor  Christians.  They 
could  not  have  had  a  more  appropriate  sepulchre. 

Following  our  guides,  we  entered  a  smaller  hall,  superbly 
hung  with  drapery  of  gleaming  alabaster,  and  then,  crawl- 
ing along  a  low  passage  and  down  an  almost  perpendicula. 
descent  of  about  fifteen  feet,  found  ourselves  in  the  great 
hall  of  the  cavern,  which  is  150  feet  long  and  about  100 
feet  high.  The  rock  is  almost  entirely  hidden  under  the 
immense  masses  of  stalactite,  which  here  take  the  wildest 
and  most  startling  forms.  Indeed,  as  a  specimen  of  stalac- 
fcitic  formation,  the  cavern  surpasses  anything  which  I  have 
aver  seen.  The  floor  of  the  last  hah1  is  composed  of  large 
masses  of  rock  .vbich  have  fallen  from  above,  and  descend* 


128  TRAVELS  IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

rapidly  to  the  further  end,  where  there  are  three  small 
chambers.  Here  the  last  of  the  victims  perished,  reached 
even  there  by  the  stifling  fumes  of  sulphur  and  resin 
kindled  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  Skulls  rolled  away  under 
our  feet,  and  on  one  of  the  stalagmites  lay  a  long,  thick 
braid  of  woman's  hair.  The  atmosphere  was  heavy  and 
stifling,  and  a  sickening  odor  of  mortality  still  exhaled  fron 
the  ghastly  remains.  We  returned  to  the  entrance  hall, 
and  then  explored  another  branch,  which  terminates  hi  a 
deep  pit,  down  which  you  see  the  fluted  white  curtains, 
fold  falling  behind  fold — the  roof,  apparently,  of  still  deeper 
halls,  which  have  never  yet  been  explored.  Many  of  the 
largest  stalactites  were  broken  off  by  the  earthquake  which 
desolated  Crete  in  October,  1856.  Another  beautiful  ap- 
pearance hi  this  part  of  the  cavern  was  that  of  a  series  of 
frozen  cascades,  falling  hi  broad,  thin  sheets  from  the 
horizontal  shelves  of  rock.  Greatly  as  we  were  impressed 
by  these  wonders,  however,  we  were  not  sorry  when  oui 
exploration  was  at  an  end,  and  we  could  climb  the  slippery 
plane  to  daylight  again. 

Ismail  Bey  had  in  the  meantime  killed  a  fine  turkey  for 
us,  and  we  were  obliged  to  postpone  our  departure  until  it 
was  cooked.  The  priest  again  ate  with  ns,  and  compla 
cently  munched  his  olives  while  we  attacked  the  succulent 
quarters  of  the  fowl  which  the. Governor  laid  before  us.  At 
noon,  we  started  in  the  rain  for  Axos,  the  distance  whereof 
from  Melidoni  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain,  some  saying  it 
was  two,  some  three,  and  some  six  hours.  A  violent  dis« 
cussion  at  once  arose,  and  I  became  convinced  that  if  the 
Cretans  are  not  liars,  according  to  Epimenides  and  St 


THE  CAVERNS,  MOUNTAINS,  ETC.,  OP  CRETE.     126 

Paul,  they  at  least  call  themselves  so.  Our  road,  for  some 
distance,  led  through  a  wild,  broken,  but  remarkably  fertile 
region,  through  orchards  of  immense  olive,  interspersed 
with  clumps  of  plane  and  crab-trees,  the  former  completely 
overgrown  with  gigantic  grape-vines.  Some  of  the  olive- 
trunks  were  full  six  feet  in  diameter,  showing  an  age  of 
from  ten  to  fifteen  centuries.  The  ground  was  strewed 
with  limbs  broken  off  by  the  snow.  This  forcible  pruning, 
however,  will  rather  benefit  the  trees  than  otherwise,  as  the 
people  are  in  the  habit  of  leaving  them  entirely  to  nature, 
when,  by  judicious  pruning,  their  yield  might  be  greatly 
increased.  Seven"  years  ago,  the  olive-trees  in  Attica  were 
so  much  injured  by  a  cold  winter,  that  it  was  necessary  to 
cut  off  all  the  tops.  For  two  or  three  years,  the  people 
lost  their  crops,  but  now  the  trees  produce  as  they  have 
never  done  before.  In  the  district  of  Melidoni,  during  the 
winter,  upwards  of  12,000  sheep  and  goats  had  perished 
from  the  cold. 

We  at  last  came  upon  the  large,  rapid  river  of  Axos,  the 
"rapidum  Cretan  veniemus  Oaxen"  of  Virgil,  which  we 
were  obliged  to  ford  twice.  Passing  a  picturesque  foun- 
tain, shaded  by  plane-trees,  we  climbed  up  a  steep,  rocky 
hill  to  the  village  of  Gharazo.  This  place,  which  is  cele 
brated  for  the  beauty  of  its  women,  contains  many  fine  old 
ruined  buildings,  apparently  of  the  Venetian  time.  The 
three  women  we  saw  were  hideous  creatures,  greatly  to  our 
disappointment.  We  stopped  at  the  house  of  the  captain 
of  t^e  village,  where  Hadji  Bey  wished  us  to  halt  for  the 
night,  as  the  rain  was  increasing,  but  the  captain  cruelly 
Bard  to  him :  "  I  wish  you  would  pay  me  for  the  last  time 


130  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

you  were  here."  I  determined  to  push  on  to  Axos,  but  as 
everybody  gave  us  a  different  direction,  we  were  obliged  to 
hire  a  villager  as  guide.  Hadji  Bey  was  rather  disconsolate 
at  the  prospect,  and  sang  no  more  of  his  doleful  songs  of 
love  that  day.  We  now  commenced  ascending  the  north- 
ern spurs  of  Ida,  and  the  scenery  was  of  the  wildest  and 
grandest  kind,  though  dreary  enough  in  the  pelting  rain, 
which  increased  every  hour.  All  the  steep  mountain  slopes, 
far  and  near,  were  covered  with  vineyards,  which  produce 
the  excellent  red  Cretan  wine.  There  are  fortunes  to  be 
made  by  some  one  who  has  enterprise  and  skill  enough  to 
undertake  the  business  of  properly  preparing  and  exporting 
the  wines  of  Crete. 

The  vines,  I  learned,  are  much  more  exempt  from 
disease  than  in  Greece  and  the  Ionian  Islands.  They  are 
subject,  however,  to  the  ravages  of  a  caterpillar,  for  the 
expulsion  of  which,  when  all  other  means  have  failed,  a 
singular  superstition  is  employed.  The  insects  are  formally 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  judicial  tribunal  of  the  dis- 
trict, in  order  to  be  tried  for  their  trespasses,  and  the  fear 
of  a  legal  prosecution,  it  is  believed,  will  cause  them  to 
cease  at  once  from  their  ravages !  If  this  be  true,  cater 
pillars  are  the  most  sagacious  of  vermin.  In  some  parts  of 
Crete,  a  not  less  singular  remedy  is  applied.  It  is  one  of 
those  peculiar  customs  which  most  travellers,  like  th 
historian  Gibbon,  express  "  in  the  decent  obscurity  of  a 
learned  language ;"  but  I  do  not  know  why  I  should  not 
say  that  the  remedy  consists  in  an  immodest  exposure  on 
the  part  of  the  women,  whereat  the  worms  are  so  shocked 
that  they  drop  from  the  vines,  wriggle  themselves  into  the 
pnrth,  and  are  soon  no  more. 


THE   CAVKKXS,    MOrVI AUTS,    ETC.,    OF   CRETE.  13"i 

After  riding  for  nearly  two  hours  along  a  lofty  con  b,  wfl 
approached  the  wild  gorge  once  crowned  by  the  ancient 
Axos,  through  scattering  groves  of  fine  oak-trees.  The 
only  ruins  in  the  modern  village  are  a  Byzantine  chapel 
and  some  Roman  brick-work,  but  there  is  a  small  fragment 
of  Cyclopean  wall  on  the  summit  above.  We  rode  at 
once  to  the  captain  of  the  village,  who  invited  us  into  his 
house,  or  rather  den,  for  it  was  a  long,  low  pile  of  stones, 
heaped  against  a  rock,  without  window  or  chimney.  The 
interior  was  divided  into  several  compartments,  some  for 
beasts  and  some  for  men — the  former  being  more  comfort- 
able than  the  latter.  We  crept  into  the  dark  hovel,  where 
we  were  at  least  secure  against  the  rain,  except  such  as 
came  through  two  holes  in  the  roof,  out  of  which  a  portion 
of  the  smoke  escaped.  The  captain,  an  old  Christian,  dirty 
enough  to  be  a  saint  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  with  a  long, 
venerable  white  beard,  kindled  a  fire  to  dry  our  wet 
clothes,  giving  us  the  alternative  of  either  being  blinded 
by  the  smoke  or  returning  into  the  rain.  Finally,  the  wet 
wood  burned  into  coals,  Franyois  fried  some  eggs,  the 
village  supplied  excellent  wine,  and  we  made  our  hermitage 
as  endurable  as  possible.  The  captain,  whom  we  were 
obliged  to  invite  to  dinner,  made  inroads  upon  our  stock 
of  caviar,  the  only  thing  he  dared  eat.  He  had  a  spacious 
bedroom,  which  we  hoped  to  occupy ;  but  he  had  not  yet 
learned  Turkish  hospitality,  and  we  were  obliged  to  sleep 
in  the  kitchen,  with  the  rain  trickling  through  the  roof 
ipon  our  heads.  A  number  of  the  villagers  came  during 
the  evening,  to  stare  at  us,  and  ask  questions.  We  endea- 
rured  to  get  some  information  from  them  respecting  the 


132  TRAVELS   TN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

road  to  Heracleon,  but  finally  gave  up  the  aitempt  ill 
despair.  Frangois  completely  lost  his  patience,  and  pro- 
tested that  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life  he  had  neve/ 
lodged  in  such  holes,  or  been  brought  into  contact  with 
pach  a  rascally  set  of  people.  St.  Paul,  referring  to  the 
Cretan  poet  Epimenides,  says :  "  One  of  themselves,  even 
a  prophet  of  their  own  said,  The  Cretans  are  always  liars, 
evil  beasts,  slow  bellies.  This  witness  is  true."  It  is  just 
as  true  at  the  present  day,  as  applied  to  the  Cretan 
Christians,  and  to  many,  but  not  all,  of  the  Turks.  I 
scarcely  know  which  disgusted  me  more,  during  the 
journey — the  beastly  manner  of  life  of  the  Cretans  and 
their  filthy  bodily  habits,  or  their  brazen  falsehood  and 
egregious  vanity. 

In  the  morning,  it  rained  as  before,  but  I  was  determined 
to  leave  Axos,  even  if  we  had  to  take  refuge  in  a  similar 
den.  The  muleteers,  nevertheless,  refused  to  stir.  "  Kill 
us,  if  you  like,"  they  said,  "  but  we  will  not  move  in  such 
weather."  I  gave  them  until  noon  to  decide,  declaring 
that  I  should  then  take  a  mule,  ride  to  Heracleon,  and 
return  for  them  with  half-a-dozen  Albanian  soldiers.  Fran- 
9ois,  however,  employed  the  more  potent  argument  of  a 
jug  of  wine,  and,  in  proportion  as  they  grew  wet  within, 
they  became  indifferent  to  the  wet  without.  At  noon,  they 
were  ready.  The  villagers  brought  us  a  great  number  ol 
coins,  Greek,  Roman,  Arabic  and  Venetian  ;  they  were 
mostly  obliterated,  but  I  succeeded  in  finding  some  copper 
pieces  with  the  symbols  of  ancient  Axos  upon  them.  The 
captain  demanded  an  exorbitant  price  for  the  use  of  hip 
house,  and  the  quarrel  which  ensued  made  us  regret  agair 


THE   CAVERNS,    MOUNTAINS,    ETC.,    OP   CRETE.  188 

that  we  were  not  among  the  Turks.  We  had  engaged  a 
man  as  guide  to  the  next  village  of  Kamariotes,  and  when 
we  were  about  to  start,  he  coolly  turned  to  the  villager? 
and  asked :  "  Which  way  must  I  go  ?  I  never  was  there 
but  once,  and  that  was  hi  the  night !"  He  had  previously 
told  us  that  he  knew  every  step  of  the  road. 

We  passed  through  the  gap  behind  Axos,  and  then 
turned  eastward  into  the  heart  of  the  wild,  barren  moun- 
tains. It  was  no  road,  but  a  stony  ladder,  which  we 
traversed,  and  any  animal  but  a  Cretan  mule  would  have 
broken  his  neck  in  the  first  half  mile.  We  kept  along  one 
of  the  spurs  of  Ida,  near  the  line  of  snow,  through  a  dreary 
wilderness,  for  two  hours,  when  we  reached  the  next 
village.  It  was  a  miserable  forlorn  place,  and  the  lanes 
between  the  houses  were  so  deep  in  snow  that  it  was 
impossible  to  pass  through  them.  We  learned,  however, 
that  there  was  another  place,  called  Asterakia,  three  or 
four  miles  further,  and  determined  to  push  on.  Upon 
hearing  this  announcement,  Hadji  Bey,  whose  whining 
love-plaints  had  already  been  soaked  out  of  him,  became 
desperate.  "  I  forbid  you,"  he  shouted  to  Fran9ois  ;  "  / 
have  charge  of  the  Beyzadehs,  and  they  shall  stop  here  !" 
We  laughed,  turned  our  mules'  heads,  and  went  on,  whi* 
tling.  Looking  back,  after  we  had  gone  half  a  mile,  we  saw 
the  Hadji  and  the  baggage  mules  following  us  in  sad, 
funereal  procession.  After  crossing  another  ridge,  a  long 
cheerful  valley,  sprinkled  with  groves  of  noble  oaks,  brought 
as  to  Asterakia — "The  Little  Star,"  but  a  more  appropriate 
name  would  be  "  The  Little  Dunghill." 

We  went  into  the  captain's  house.     The  first  room  wae 


134  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

a  stable,  containing  two  asses  and  four  pigs.  Through 
this  we  reached  a  small  windowless  den,  where  two  of  the 
ancient  Muses  were  baking  bread,  while  a  sick  man  laj 
upon  a  floor,  under  a  heap  of  thorny  furze.  The  women 
seemed  angry  at  our  intrusion,  and  I  sent  Fran9ois  to  seek 
other  lodgings,  but  lie  soon  returned,  saying  that  this  wa* 
a  palace  compared  to  the  other  dwellings.  The  captain, 
who  was  very  anxious  that  we  should  stay,  gave  his  com- 
mands, and  the  tragic  Muses  immediately  became  comic, 
in  their  cheerfulness.  We  gave  some  advice  to  the  sick 
man,  who  had  a  violent  cold,  with  some  fever,  but  the 
women  said :  "  It  is  no  use  giving  him  anything ;  if  he 
don't  get  well,  he  will  die."  They  baked  their  bread  in  a 
small  oven,  heated  with  dry  broom  and  furze.  The  neigh- 
bors came  in  to  witness  our  dinner,  and  partake  of  our 
caviar,  which  was  an  unheard-of  delicacy  in  those  parts. 
They  were  a  lively,  good-humored  set,  but  had  the  same 
fatal  inability  to  answer  a  question.  I  asked  one  how  far 
it  was  to  Heracleon,  but  he  answered  that  he  had  never 
been  there  in  all  his  life. 

We  were  now,  fortunately,  within  an  easy  day's  journey 
of  the  town,  and  when  the  morning  dawned  with  a  lower- 
.ng  sky,  but  without  rain,  we  encountered  no  opposition 
from  our  guard  and  attendants.  The  road  led  over  wild 
mountain  ridges  for  some  miles,  when  we  struck  upon  the 
basUiko  dromos,  or  Royal  Road,  from  Rhithymnos  to 
Heracleon.  It  is  an  old  Venetian  way,  roughly  paved  in 
parts,  so  that  the  rugged  mountain  side  is  preferred  by 
tho  mules.  At  last,  from  a  ridge  at  the  foot  of  StrombolL 
a  conspicuous  conical  peak,  we  saw  the  sea  again,  and  tht 


THE   CAVERNS,    MOUNTAINS,    ETC.,    OP   OBETK.  135 

warm,  green  plain  of  Candia,  lying  far  below  us.  To  the 
Bouth-east,  out  of  the  plain,  rose  the  dark,  isolated  mass 
of  Mount  Juktas,  the  sepulchre  of  Jupiter.  Behind  us, 
under  the  eaves  of  the  clouds,  glimmered  the  snows  of  Ida, 
his  birthplace.  The  remains  of  the  tomb  of  the  "  Father 
of  gods  and  men,"  who  was  worshipped  in  Crete  as  late  a* 
the  eighth  century,  are  still  to  be  seen  on  the  summit  of 
Juktas — a  parallelogram  of  hewn  stones,  eighty  feet  in 
length. 

Eleven  days  of  continuous  rain  had  given  us  a  surfeit 
of  Cretan  travel,  besides  which  the  mountain  roads  were 
becoming  impassable,  and  the  streams  too  high  to  be 
forded.  I  therefore  renounced  my  project  of  visiting  the 
ruins  of  Gortyna,  on  the  southern  side  of  Mount  Ida. 
In  themselves,  the  remains  of  the  ancient  city  are  insig- 
nificant, but  in  the  adjacent  mountain  there  is  an  excava- 
tion, known  all  over  Crete  as  "  The  Labyrinth."  We 
know  that  the  famous  labyrinth  constructed  by  Da'dalus 
was  hi  the  vicinity  of  Cnossus,  the  site  of  which  is  about 
three  miles  from  Heracleon,  and  plainly  visible  from  its 
walls.  There  are  numerous  caves  in  the  neighboring  hills, 
which  may  have  given  rise  to  the  tradition  ;  but  the 
labyrinth  of  Gortyna  is  undoubtedly  a  work  of  art.  It  is 
of  great  extent,  and  the  exploration  of  it  is  a  work  of  some 
danger,  owing  to  the  number  and  intricacy  of  the  various 
passages.  The  English  engineer  at  Rhithymnos,  who 
explored  it  by  means  of  a  bag  of  chaff,  which  he  scattered 
as  he  went,  considers  it  to  have  been  a  quarry.  The 
natives  are  frequently  bewildered  and  lost  in  it,  and  hence 
they  never  enter  it  without  fear.  This  place  exliibiw 


136  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

certainly  all  the  characteristics  of  the  fabulous  labyrinth 
except  its  location.  On  the  latter  ground,  I  believe 
antiquaries  reject  it  entirely.  The  symbol  on  the  coins 
of  Gortyna  is  Europa  and  the  bull,  while  those  of  Cnossus 
have  a  ground-plan  of  the  labyrinth  on  the  obverse.  I 
procured  one  of  the  latter  at  Axos. 

I  learned  that  a  splendid  sarcophagus  had  been  recently 
exhumed  near  Hierapetra  (the  ancient  Hieraptyna),  on  the 
southern  shore  of  the  island.  The  sides  contain  bas-reliefs 
representing  the  combat  for  the  shield  of  Achilles.  It 
was  at  Arvi,  near  the  same  place  that  the  sarcophagus  with 
the  triumphal  procession  of  Bacchus,  now  in  the  Museum 
at  Oxford,  was  found.  It  would  be  a  very  easy  matter, 
said  my  informant,  to  get  possession  of  this  interesting 
relic,  and  smuggle  it  out  of  the  island.  I  mention  this 
fact  for  the  benefit  of  those  especially  interested  in  sucb 
matters. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

TWO     DATS     WITH     AN     ARCHBISHOP. 

THE  chief  city  of  Crete  is  known  in  Europe  by  its  Ve- 
netian name  of  Candia,  which  during  the  Middle  Ages 
was  applied  to  the  whole  island.  The  country  people, 
however,  invariably  speak  of  it  as  Megdlo-kastron,  or  the 
Great  Fortress,  while  the  educated  Greeks,  both  in  Crete 
and  elsewhere,  have  restored  the  ancient  name  of  Hera- 
cleion,  which  was  a  small  seaport,  near  Cnossus.  Of  these 
names,  the  latter  is  preferable,  and  I  therefore  employ  it. 
Both  among  Greeks  and  Turks,  the  island  has  always 
retained  the  name  of  "Crete,"  instead  of  the  bastard  Ve- 
netian name  of  "  Candia,"  which  is  only  just  beginning  to 
be  relinquished  in  Europe.  The  latter  word  is  never 
heard  in  the  Orient,  and  we  have  no  longer  any  right  tc 
use  it.  I  have  given  the  classic  name  as  the  only  correct 
one. 

At  Heracleion,  as  at  Rhithymnos,  I  was  provided  with 
%  double  recommendation,  through  the  kindness  of  Vely 
Pasha,  and  the  choice  of  taking  up  my  abode  either  witt 


138  TRAVELS    IK   GREECE   AND   KUSSIA. 

the  Turkish  Governor,  or  the  venerable  Metropolitan 
(Archbishop)  of  Crete.  The  hate  manifested  towards  tht 
latter  by  the  bigoted  Greek  party  in  the  island,  and  their 
intrigues  to  have  him  removed  by  the  Patriarch  of  the 
Church,  at  Constantinople,  convinced  me  that  he  must  be 
a  good  man,  and  I  therefore  determined  to  claim  his 
hospitality.  We  reached  the  city  early  in  the  afternoon, 
in  a  very  battered  and  rusty  condition,  splashed  with 
mud  from  head  to  foot,  and,  as  we  threaded  the  streets 
on  our  jaded  mules,  were  the  objects  of  general  curiosity. 
Travellers  are  yet  so  scarce  in  Crete  as  to  be  personages  of 
some  importance.  Hadji  Bey  guided  us  to  the  Metropoli- 
tan's residence,  a  large,  rambling  building,  with  three  sepa- 
rate court-yards,  a  chapel  and  large  garden.  His  Holi- 
ness was  not  at  home,  but  we  were  courteously  received 
by  several  priests  and  a  secretary  who  spoke  Italian. 
They  at  once  appropriated  a  room  to  our  use,  entertained 
us  with  pipes  and  coffee  in  the  large  audience  room,  and 
then  considerately  allowed  us  to  withdraw  and  change  our 
clothes. 

Presently  the  arrival  of  the  Metropolitan  was  announced, 
and  we  found  him  waiting  for  us  at  the  foot  of  the  steps. 
His  age  was  sixty-three;  he  was  a  little  under  the  medium 
height,  but  erect  and  commanding  in  his  appearance,  with 
large,  intelligent,  benevolent  gray  eyes,  a  strong,  straight, 
Albanian  nose,  and  a  majestic  silver  beard,  which  fell  to 
his  girdle.  He  wore  a  long,  cinnamon-colored  robe,  over 
which  was  a  dark -green  pelisse,  trimmed  with  fur,  and  the 
usual  round  black  eap  of  the  Greek  priesthood,  which 
somewhat  resembles  an  inverted  sauce-kettle.  There  was 


TWO   DAYS   WITH    AN   ARCHBISHOP.  13C 

no  fear  of  mistranslating  the  look  of  welcome  upon  that 
reverend  face,  or  the  cordial  grasp  of  his  extended  hand. 
The  extent  of  his  hospitality  will  be  better  understood 
\\her.  I  state  (what  we  only  learned  on  leaving)  that  he 
had  made  preparations  for  his  departure  into  the  interior 
on  the  morrow,  and  immediately  postponed  the  journey 
on  our  account.  Still  holding  my  hand,  he  led  us  up-stairg 
to  the  divan,  called  for  glyko  (sweets)— a  delicious  jelly  of 
strawberries  prepared  at  Constantinople — pipes  of  the 
finest  Rumeli  tobacco,  and  coffee.  I  then  gave  him  the 
Pasha's  letter  and  a  few  lines  of  greeting  from  Elizabeth 
of  Crete. 

With  Fran§ois'  help — as  it  was  rather  a  delicate  subject 
— I  said  to  him  that  we  would  not  trespass  upon  his  hospi- 
tality further  than  to  make  use  of  the  room  allotted  to  us, 
us  we  were  provided  with  every  other  requisite.  He  ap- 
parently acquiesced,  to  our  great  satisfaction,  and  I  dis- 
patched Fran9ois  to  give  into  the  charge  of  some  Turkish 
baker,  for  cooking,  a  brace  of  hares  which  we  had  picked 
up  at  Asterakia.  Shortly  afterwards,  however,  when  we 
had  retired  from  the  audience,  two  priests  came  to  bring 
us  back  again,  stating  that  we  were  to  occupy  the  divan. 
I  protested,  but  in  vain.  The  Metropolitan  would  hear  of 
nothing  else,  and  as  the  evenings  were  still  cool,  he  ordered 
:i  huge  mangal,  or  brazier  of  coals,  upon  which  were  laid 
strips  of  lemon  peel,  to  neutralize  the  gas  and  perfume  the 
apartment  It  was  a  lofty,  spacious  room,  with  a  raised 
seat  covered  with  damask  at  the  further  end,  and  a  thick 
straw  matting  on  the  floor.  The  oidy  ornaments  were 
some  Byzantine  pictures  of  the  Sacrifice  of  Abraham,  the 


140  TRAVELS   IN   GRKECE   AND   BUSSIA. 

Murder  of  Abel,  and  Joseph's  adventure  with  Potiphar'e 
wife — singular  ornaments  for  an  ecclesiastical  residence 
As  I  was  resigning  myself  to  this  hospitality  and  its  conse- 
quent restraints,  the  Metropolitan  stated  that  dinner  would 
loon  be  ready.  So  it  appeared  that  we  were  doomed  tc 
eat  at  his  table,  also.  Dinner  with  an  Archbishop,  in  the 
midst  of  Lent!  We  were  desperately  hungry,  and  the 
hares,  I  thought,  must  be  nearly  done  by  this  time.  Fare 
well,  visions  of  the  savory  roast,  and  the  odoriferous  stew ! 
Garlic  and  pulse  are  our  portion. 

It  was  after  dark  when  we  were  summoned,  and  descend- 
ed together  to  a  lower  room,  where  the  Metropolitan  sat 
down  to  the  table  with  us,  while  two  priests  stood  by  to 
wait  upon  us.  There  were  two  salads,  a  plate  of  olives, 
and  some  bread.  We  groaned  hi  spirit,  as  we  thought  of 
the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt — as  the  officials  of  a  European 
Court  groaned,  when  they  beheld  an  American  Minister's 
temperance  breakfast.  Enforced  holiness  is  even  worse 
than  enforced  teetotalism.  The  priests  handed  us  plates  of 
soup.  Hot  gruel,  I  thought ;  but  no,  it  had  a  flavor  of 
chicken,  and  before  the  plates  were  emptied,  a  heretical 
boiled  fowl  was  placed  under  my  very  nose.  Then,  0 
miracle !  marched  hi  our  hares,  dripping  with  balmy  sauce 
— cooked  as  never  hares  were  cooked  before.  Meanwhile 
the  ruby  blood  of  Ida  gushed  in  our  glasses,  and  we  real- 
ized in  its  fullest  sense  the  unreasonableness  of  Lent — how 
much  more  contented,  grateful,  and  recognizant  one  feels 
when  feasting  than  when  fasting.  I  could  not  help  ejacu- 
lating, hi  all  sincerity,  "Doxasi  'o  theos!" 

All  this  time,  the  good  old  man  was  contentedly  eating 


TWO    DATS    WITH    AN    ARCHBISHOP.  141 

his  salad  and  olives.  "  This  is  liberal  and  truly  Christian,' 
I  said  to  Fra^ois.  "Oh,"  replied  that  worthy,  "his 
Holiness  has  sense  enough  to  know  that  we  are  no  better 
than  atheists."  In  fact  I  do  not  doubt  that,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  two  attendant  priests,  we  were  utterly  lost. 

During  the  whole  of  our  stay,  we  fared  sumptuously 
The  table  groaned  twice  a  day  under  its  weight  of  tisli, 
flesh,  and  fowl,  and,  so  far  from  being  shocked,  the  Metro- 
politan benevolently  smiled  upon  our  mountain  appetites. 
I  explained  to  him  that  the  Protestants  eschewed  outward 
observances  of  this  kind,  considering  that  the  fast  should  be 
spiritual  and  not  bodily.  In  order  to  make  the  matter 
clearer  to  him,  I  referred  to  St.  Paul's  remarks  on  the  sub- 
ject of  circumcision.  "I  understand  it  very  well,"  he 
replied,  "  but  we  cannot  do  otherwise  at  present.  My 
health  suffers  under  the  observance,  but  if  I  were  to  violate 
it,  I  should  be  chased  from  my  place  at  once."  I  must 
confess  I  have  a  higher  reverence  for  the  virtue  of  hospi- 
tality than  we  seem  to  set  upon  it  at  present.  When  a 
Turk  regales  a  Christian  with  ham  (as  it  happened  at 
Athens  the  same  winter),  when  a  lenten  priest  roasts  his 
turkey  for  you,  when  an  advocate  of  the  Maine  Law  gives 
his  German  friend  a  glass  of  wine,  when  some  of  my  own 
anti-tobacco  friends  at  home  allow  me  to  smoke  a  cigar  in 
the  back-kitchen  with  the  windows  open,  there  is  a  sacrifice 
of  self  on  the  altar  of  common  humanity.  True  hospitality 
involves  a  consideration  for  each  other's  habits — not  our  ex- 
cesses, mind  you,  but  our  usual  habits  of  life — even  when  they 
differ  on  such  serious  grounds  as  I  have  mentioned.  But  I 
have  dined  with  Vegetarians  who  *aid,  "  Meat  is  unwhole- 


142  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

some,  so  my  conscience  will  not  let  me  give  it  to  you,"  or 
with  the  Ventilators,  who  proclaimed  that  "fires  in  bed 
rooms  are  deleterious" — and  I  have  been  starved  and  frozen, 
The  Metropolitan,  finding  that  I  spoke  a  very  little 
Greek,  insisted  on  dispensing  with  the  aid  of  an  interpreter. 
The  purity  of  his  accent,  after  the  harsh  Cretan  dialect,  in 
tact,  made  it  comparatively  easy  for  me  to  understand  him, 
but  it  kept  my  brain  constantly  on  the  stretch  to  follow  the 
course  of  his  conversation,  and  to  find  suitable  replies.  He 
was  a  native  of  Epirus,  of  which  province  he  was  Bishop 
for  ten  years,  before  coming  to  Crete.  He  was  therefore, 
of  Slavonic,  not  Hellenic  blood.  It  is  well  known  that 
Bishoprics  and  Archbishoprics  in  the  Greek  Church  are 
marketable  commodities  in  the  hands  of  the  Patriarch,  and 
Fran9ois  says,  with  how  much  truth  I  know  not,  that  our 
host's  place  cost  him  300,000  piastres  ($12,000).  It  seemed 
certain,  however,  that  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  keep  il 
long — he  was  far  too  enlightened  and  progressive  for  the 
owls  and  bats  who  haunt  the  darkness  of  Eastern  Christi- 
anity. His  first  act  was  to  establish  a  school  at  Heracleion, 
and  already  sixteen  hundred  children  of  both  sexes  were 
receiving  instruction  in  it.  All  his  influence  had  been 
exerted  in  persuading  the  monasteries  of  Crete,  which  are 
the  very  hives  of  indolence  and  rapacity,  to  establish  schools? 
for  the  peasantry  with  a  portion  of  their  ample  revenue* ; 
but  only  three  or  four  of  them  consented  to  do  so.  In  his 
endeavors,  also,  to  assist  Vely  Pasha  hi  carrying  into  force 
the  JTattihumayoun,  be  incurred  the  hostility  of  the  ultra- 
Greek  party,  who  called  him,  in  derision,  the  "Turko- 
polite."  It  was  very  cheering  to  light  upon  <u  evidence 


TWO   DAYS   WITH    AN   ARCHBISHOP.  143 

of  true  progress,  in  the  midst  of  the  disheartening  erperi 
ences  which  constantly  meet  the  traveller  in  Greece  and 
the  Orient.  But  what  availed  all  his  efforts  ?  In  six  months 
aftei  our  visit,  he  was  dead,  Vely  Pasha  was  dismissed,  and 
Europe  was  satisfied. 

The  day  after  our  arrival,  the  Metropolitan  accompanied 
us  on  a  walk  through  the  city.  The  place  was  totally  de- 
stroyed by  an  earthquake  in  the  year  1856,  between  five 
and  six  hundred  people  perishing  in  the  ruins.  Advantage 
of  this  has  been  taken,  in  rebuilding,  to  widen  the  streets 
and  improve  the  general  plan  of  the  town,  though  not  to 
such  an  extent  as  the  Government  designed,  on  account  of 
the  violent  opposition  of  the  people.  One  sees  everywhere 
heaps  of  ruins.  As  we  walked  through  the  streets,  followed 
by  the  two  secretaries,  the  tradesmen  and  mechanics  in  the 
bazaars  saluted  the  Metropolitan  by  rising  to  their  feet, 
and  in  return  he  gave  them  his  benediction  by  lifting  two 
fingers.  We  first  called  upon  the  Turkish  Governor,  a 
young  man,  whom  I  should  have  set  down  anywhere  as  an 
American,  from  his  face.  He  offered  us  house,  horses,  and 
everything  else  in  his  power,  but  we  only  accepted  an  officer 
as  guide  to  the  fortifications  and  the  old  Venetian  arsenal. 
The  former  are  of  immense  strength  and  solidity,  and  the 
bronze  guns  of  St.  Mark  still  grin  through  the  embrasuivs 
of  the  sea-wall.  The  port  is  quite  small,  and  partly  choked 
up  with  sand.  It  is  protected  by  a  mole,  which  is  tumbling 
down,  with  a  deserted  fort  at  the  extremity.  Considerable 
commerce  is  carried  on  with  other  ports  of  the  Levant, 
and  even  with  England,  the  principal  exports  being  soap, 
oil,  wine,  silk,  and  wool. 


144  TRAVELS  IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

The  arsenal  is  one  of  the  most  curious  relics  of  tie  Mid 
die  Ages  which  I  have  ever  seen.  It  is  a  massive  stone 
building  in  the  Palladian  style.  One  side  was  thrown 
down  by  the  earthquake,  and  the  other  walls  cracked  in 
many  places  from  top  to  bottom,  but  fortunately  not  beyond 
tho  possibility  of  repair.  It  is  completely  stored  with  arms 
of  all  kinds,  heaped  together  in  great  piles  and  covered 
with  rust.  Scores  of  cannon,  with  their  carriages,  lean 
against  the  walls ;  great  haystacks  of  swords  rise  above  one's 
head ;  heavy  flails,  studded  with  spikes,  lances,  arquebussea 
and  morning-stars  are  heaped  in  dusty  confusion  along  the 
length  of  the  dark  hall.  In  the  upper  story  is  a  space  evi- 
dently devoted  to  trophies  taken  in  war.  To  every  pillar  is 
affixed  a  wooden  shield  with  a  Latin  motto,  eround  which 
are  hung  helmets,  pikes,  rapiers,  and  two-handed  swords. 
There  are  also  a  multitude  of  tents,  cordage,  and  kettles  of 
balsam,  which  was  used  in  making  piasters  for  the  wounded. 
Everything  appears  to  be  very  much  in  the  same  condition 
as  it  was  left  by  the  Venetians,  two  centuries  airo.  The 
officers  gave  me  leave  to  select  an  arrow  from  the  sheaves 
of  those  weapons,  cautioning  me,  however,  not  to  scratch 
inyx'lt'  with  the  point,  as  many  of  them  were  poisoned. 
The  Metropolitan's  secretary,  who  longed  for  a  Christian 
relic,  secretly  slipped  one  of  them  up  his  sleeve  and  carried 
it  off. 

We  then  visited  the  Venetian  cathedral,  afterwards  a 
mosque,  and  now,  owing  to  the  earthquake,  a  beautiful  ruin. 
While  I  sketched  it.  the  two  secretaries  who  stood  near, 
conversed  aliout  us.  "How  is  it,"  asked  one.  -that  the 
Americans  have  Hellenic  face-  .'  The  officers  of  the  frigate 


TWO    DAYS   WITH    AN  ARCHBISHOP.  146 

Congress  all  looked  like  ancient  Greeks,  and  so  do  these 
two !"  The  remark  was  evidently  intended  to  be  overheard, 
for  nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth.  We  had  at 
last  sunshine  again,  and  the  twenty  palms  of  Heracleion 
\vaved  in  the  balmy  air,  which  brought  them  greeting  from 
the  near  Libyan  shore.  Ida  rose  unclouded  in  the  west,  its 
superb  pinnacle  just  visible  above  its  buttresses  of  gilded 
snow,  while  over  the  warm  wheat-plains  and  the  low  hill  of 
Cnossus  towered  Juktas  in  lonely  grandeur,  as  if  proud  to 
be  the  sepulchre  of  Jove.  I  projected  a  ride  thither,  but 
the  Thunderer's  tomb  was  not  to  be  trodden  by  profane 
t'eet :  the  snow  still  lay  deep  on  the  summit,  and  the  monks 
of  the  monastery  of  Arkhanic,  at  its  base,  reported  that 
the  mountain  was  inaccessible. 

We  went  the  round  of  the  schools  in  company  with  the 
Metropolitan,  who  introduced  us  both  to  teachers  and 
scholars,  making  a  short  address  to  each  class.  The  more 
advanced  boys  were  reading  Xenophon,  which  they  parsed 
and  explained  with  great  glibness.  I  was  delighted  to  see 
such  a  number  of  bright,  intelligent  faces,  especially  among 
the  younger  boys.  Their  eager,  earnest  expression  was 
an  evidence  that  their  attendance  was  not  compulsory.  The 
Metropolitan  was  kind  enough  to  translate  a  few  words  to 
them,  for  me,  and  I  really  felt,  as  I  told  him,  that  such  a 
wight  was  better  than  a  ruined  temple.  He  informed  me 
that  Vely  Pasha  intended  establishing  a  school  in  the  city, 
in  which  both  Greek  and  Turkish  children  were  to  be  taught 
together,  and  I  was  very  glad  to  find  that  he  was  himself 
strongly  in  favor  of  the  measure.  But  if  this  plan  evei 
succeeds,  it  will  be  in  spite  of  the  <lreek  population. 


146  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

Outside  the  walls,  there  is  a  separate  village  for  the  lepers, 
as  at  Rhithyranos.  These  unhappy  creatures  are  obliged 
to  leave  their  native  villages  as  soon  as  the  disease  makes 
its  appearance,  and  consort  with  those  who  are  cut  off 
from  intercourse  with  the  healthy  population  by  the  same 
fate.  The  disease,  in  Crete,  although  presenting  nearly 
the  same  features  as  in  Norway,  is  slower  in  its  operation 
and  less  hideous  in  its  appearance.  It  is  not  considered 
contagious,  as  there  are  many  instances  on  the  island  of  a 
leprous  man  being  married  to  a  sound  woman,  and  the 
reverse,  without  communicating  the  disease.  The  children 
of  such  unions  are  sometimes  healthy,  even.  The  number 
of  lepers  in  Crete  is  -upward  of  1,200,  and  is  at  present  on 
the  increase,  the  disease  invading  even  Sfakia,  where  it  has 
hitherto  been  unknown.  It  has  been  ascribed,  as  in  Nor- 
way, to  the  use  of  salt  fish,  together  with  excessive  quanti- 
ties of  oil,  and  especially  new  oil,  which  has  a  fiery,  acrid 
quality,  which  it  loses  after  a  few  months.  The  filthy  ha- 
bits of  life  of  the  Cretans  no  doubt  assist  in  developing  the 
disease.  The  Medical  Inspector  of  Heracleion,  a  French 
physician,  informed  me  that  all  his  endeavors  to  cure  or 
check  it  had  been  hi  vain.  He  was  very  decided  in  the 
opinion  that  it  was  not  contagious.  He  mentioned  to  me, 
as  a  very  curious  fact,  that  venereal  diseases  are  unknown 
on  the  island, 

The  same  gentleman  was  well  acquainted  with  Sfakia, 
and  his  enthusiastic  description  of  the  people  made  me 
more  than  ever  regret  that  I  could  not  have  visited  them. 
He  considers  them  Cretans  of  unmixed  blo<.d — the  legiti- 
mate descendants  of  the  anru-nt  stock,  asserting  that  they 


TWO    DAYS    WITH    AN    AKCHBISHOP.  14? 

still  retain  all  the  physical  marks  of  the  old  Hellenic  race, 
both  in  face  and  form.  In  fact,  one  sees  more  Greek  faces 
in  a  day  in  Crete  than  during  a  year  in  Athens.  But  in 
the  greater  part  of  the  island  the  type  has  been  modified 
by  additions  of  Saracenic,  Venetian,  and  Turkish  blood  : 
only  in  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  Sfakia  does  the  true  race 
of  Minos  exist. 

We  left  Ileracleion  in  the  Austrian  steamer  after  a 
sojourn  of  sixteen  days  in  Crete,  and  returned  to  Athens 
by  way  of  Syra.  Our  parting  with  the  noble  old  Metropo- 
litan was  the  parting  from  a  revered  friend,  and  Fran9ois, 
who  acknowledged  that  he  had  at  last  found  one  priest 
worthy  of  his  office,  kissed  devoutly  the  hand  stretched  out 
to  take  his  own. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    EARTHQUAKE    AT    CORINTH. 

A  WEEK  after  my  return  from  Crete,  I  again  left  Athene 
for  a  tour  through  the  Peloponnesus,  which  I  could  no', 
enter  upon  sooner  on  account  of  the  severity  of  the  wea 
ther.  The  party  consisted  of  Braisted  and  myself,  accom 
panied  by  the  indispensable  Frangois,  all  three  mounted  on 
sturdy,  plodding  horses,  and  two  baggage  animals  under 
the  charge  of  our  agoyats,  Pericles  and  Aristides.  We 
had  the  necessary  store  of  provisions,  with  two  beds,  a 
camp-table  and  stools,  without  which  it  is  still  impossible 
to  travel  with  any  comfort  in  Greece.  Athens  is  semi- 
civilized,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  country  remains  in  a 
state  of  comparative  barbarism. 

The  day  of  our  departure  augured  a  fortunate  journey. 
It  had  stormed  on  the  previous  day,  but  now  the  azure 
pavement  of  heaven  shone  new-washed  in  the  beams  of  the 
rising  sun,  and  all  the  sounds  and  colors  of  Spring  wer« 
doubly  fresh  in  the  crystalline  air.  A  cool  wind  blew  froir 
the  west,  and  every  tint  of  the  landscape  was  retouch  e. 


THE    EARTHQUAKE    AT    CORINTH.  14S 

and  restored  with  the  loveliest  effect.  The  elder-trees  hi 
the  gardens  had  already  put  on  their  summer  dress ;  the 
tall  Grecian  poplars  stood  in  a  green  mist  of  blossoms; 
the  willows  dropped  their  first  tresses  of  milky  emerald,  and 
the  pink  petals  of  the  almond  flowers  showered  upon  the 
earth.  The  plain  of  Attica,  over  which  we  rode,  through 
Jie  olive  grove  of  the  Academy,  was  like  a  paradise.  The 
wheat  was  already  high  enough  to  ripple  and  shift  its  coloi 
in  the  wind,  and  the  vines,  among  which  the  peasants  were 
busily  working,  pruning  the  last  year's  shoots  and  heaping 
the  earth  between  the  rows,  were  beginning  to  put  forth 
their  leaves.  As  we  turned,  at  the  pass  of  Daphne,  to  take 
a  farewell  look  at  Athens,  I  was  more  than  ever  struck 
with  the  unrivalled  position  of  the  immortal  city.  The 
Acropolis  is  the  prominent  object  in  every  view,  and  the 
rock-crested  Lycabettus,  with  its  pyramidal  front,  harmo- 
niously balances  it  on  the  north,  both  being  exquisitely 
relieved  against  the  blue  background  of  Ilymettus. 

I  never  saw  a  more  superb  sea-color  than  that  of  the 
Gulf  of  Salamis,  as  it  shone  in  the  distance,  between  the 
pale  pinkish-gray  walls  of  the  pass.  It  was  a  dazzling, 
velvety  blue-green,  covered  with  a  purple  bloom,  and 
shone  with  a  semi-transparent  lustre,  like  that  of  a  dark 
sapphire.  Neither  brush  nor  pen  could  represent  it.  The 
scarlet  anemones  just  opened,  burned  like  coals  of  fire  by 
the  road-side,  wild  almonds  and  hawthorns  hid  their 
crooked  boughs  in  a  veil  of  blossoms,  and  the  lily  and 
asphodel  shot  forth  new  leaves.  It  was  a  day  loaned  from 
the  treasury  of  heaven,  and  we  shouted,  as  we  rode,  from 
an  overplus  of  animal  joy.  We  breakfasted  at  the  tomb  of 


150  TBAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

Straton,  rode  over  the  rich  plain  of  Eleusis,  passed  the 
horned  Mount  Kerata  (Cuckold),  the  eastern  headland  of 
Cithaeron,  and  reached  Megara  in  the  afternoon.  I  noticed 
the  ease  with  which  good  roads  may  be  made  in  Greece. 
The  soil  abounds  with  broken  limestone  fragments,  which 
only  need  shovelling  together  and  rolling,  to  make  an 
excellent  macadam,  not  exposed  to  the  chance  of  being 
.ivjured  by  frosts  or  heavy  rains.  On  the  plain  of  Megara 
no  road  at  all  had  been  made,  and  yet  there  was  a  very 
good  carriage  track.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  the  means 
of  internal  communication  in  Greece  are  inferior  to  what 
they  were  in  the  days  of  Homer. 

Soon  after  leaving  Eleusis,  a  few  clouds  gathered,  the 
wind  fell,  and  the  sky  darkened  in  such  a  manner  that  we 
feared  a  most  unfavorable  change  in  the  weather.  The 
landscape  became  singularly  cold  and  dreary,  and  our 
spirits  were  unaccountably  depressed.  The  foliage  lost  its 
bright  color,  the  distant  hills  became  dark  and  dull,  the 
lively  sounds  of  bird  and  beast  ceased — in  short,  some 
gloomy  spell  seemed  to  have  fallen  upon  the  world.  I 
tried  in  vain  to  shake  off  the  uncomfortable  weight,  but  it 
clung  to  me  like  a  nightmare,  and  the  fact  that  I  could  not 
account  for  it  worried  me  still  the  more.  On  reaching 
Megara,  however,  we  saw  boys  with  bits  of  smoked  glass, 
and  the  whole  thing  was  explained.  Our  testimony, 
therefore,  to  the  moral  effect  of  a  solar  eclipse  may  be 
taken  as  perfectly  impartial,  and  it  may  serve  to  explain 
the  alarm  felt  by  savage  races  on  the  occurrence  of  such  a 
phenomenon. 

The  tcwn  of  Megara  is  built  in  a  dip  between  two  hilla 


THE   EARTHQUAKE    4T   CORIOTH.  151 

which  rise  out  of  the  middle  of  the  plain.  It  has  a  lively, 
bustling  air,  and  shows  some  signs  of  progress.  Large  and 
handsome  houses  are  springing  up  in  the  midst  of  the  one- 
storied  heaps  of  rough  masonry  which  usually  constitute  a 
Greek  town,  and  although  about  every  fourth  building  is  a 
church,  the  population  must  be  considerably  above  a  thou- 
sand. The  plain  on  one  side  was  a  vast  green  floor  of 
wheat,  rye,  and  barley  ;  on  the  other  it  was  simply  plowed^ 
and  would  be  partially  planted  with  maize  or  beans.  Next 
year  the  order  of  crops  will  be  reversed,  and  so  from  year 
to  year,  in  regular  rotation.  Manuring,  or  any  improvement 
of  the  soil,  is  never  thought  of,  and  the  plow  is  the  same 
kind  used  by  Ceres,  when  she  planted  the  first  grain.  I 
was  glad  to  see,  however,  by  the  orchards  of  young  olives, 
and  the  encroachments  of  fields  upon  the  bases  of  the 
mountains,  that  the  area  of  this  rude  cultivation  is  extend- 
ing. The  city  museum  of  antiquities  is  a  dark,  dirty  hut, 
in  which  are  three  headless  statues,  one  of  them  presenting 
its  back  to  the  visitor.  During  the  evening  the  streets 
rang  with  the  voice  of  a  crier,  who  went  around  calling 
upon  all  those  who  were  not  at  work,  to  attend  church. 
This  custom  is  probably  borrowed  from  the  Moslem  call  to 
prayer,  but  the  cry  is  by  no  means  so  musical  and  impres- 
sive 

The  next  day  we  crossed  the  Geranean  Mountains  by 
the  pass  of  the  Skyronian  Rocks.  The  breakneck  bridle- 
path follows  the  chariot-road  constructed  by  Hadrian,  of 
which  the  massive  supporting  walls  remain  in  many  places. 
The  Greek  Government  has  at  last  commenced  the  task  of 
constructing  a  new  road,  which  will  probably  be  finished  in 


152  TRAVELS  IN  GREECE  AND  RUSSIA. 

the  course  of  twenty  years,  although  it  might  be  done  in 
twelve  months,  thereby  completing  the  communication 

between  Athens  and  Corinth.     The  haunt  cf  the  robber 

• 

Skyron,  destroyed  by  Theseus,  was  near  the  southern  limit 
of  the  mountains,  where  they  tower  high  overhead,  gaping 
•vith  caverns,  and  showing  white  breaks  in  their  tawny 
orange  fronts,  where  huge  fragments  have  fallen  off.  Near 
the  sea,  the  marble  rock,  smoothed  and  polished  by  the 
rains  of  thousands  of  years,  rises  like  a  hewn  wall  to  the 
height  of  more  than  a  hundred  feet.  Whether  Skyron 
was  a  strong  wind  which  blew  travellers  off  the  cliff,  or 
whether  he  was  a  real,  live  robber,  is  a  question  over 
which  scholars  may  break  their  heads.  A  more  important 
fact  is  that  there  are  bands  of  robbers  in  the  Isthmus  now, 
and  no  chariot  roads. 

Thence  to  Kalamakl  was  a  ride  of  four  hours,  over  a 
plain  almost  entirely  covered  with  mastic,  wild  olive,  and 
the  Isthmian  pine — unplowed  and  uninhabited.  In  one  spot, 
heaps  of  rough  sulphur  were  piled  on  the  seashore,  and 
we  saw,  in  the  face  of  the  mountains  on  our  right,  the 
quarries  whence  they  came.  As  we  approached  Kalamaki, 
the  ruin  wrought  by  the  earthquake  which  visited  the 
Isthmus  on  Sunday,  February  21,  became  evident.  In  the 
whole  town  but  two  houses  appeared  to  be  uninjured,  and 
those  of  which  the  walls  yet  stood  were  so  damaged  as  to 
be  entirely  uninhabitable.  The  town  was  a  mass  of  hideous 
ruin — a  mere  heap  of  stones  and  broken  tiles,  out  of  which 
the  rafters  and  roof-trees  rose  like  the  shattered  spars  of 
shipwrecked  vessels.  The  khan  where  we  had  breakfasted 
on  our  way  to  Athens,  was  level  with  the  earth ;  a  large 


THE   EARTHQUAKE   AT  CORINTH.  15S 

house  opposite  was  so  riddled  and  cracked  that  it  resembled 
a  basket,  and  great  gaps,  still  yawning  in  the  earth,  showed 
how  terrific  had  been  the  upheaval.  The  quay  had  sunk 
perceptibly,  and  a  barrack  at  its  extremity,  split  clean  into 
two  equal  parts,  leaned  outward,  threatening  to  fall  at  any 
moment.  The  people  told  us  that  the  whole  thing  was  i^e 
work  of  a  second.  It  came  like  a  thunderbolt,  out  of  a 
clear  sky,  with  no  previous  sign  of  warning.  The  sound 
and  the  shock  were  simultaneous;  houses  fell,  the  earth 
heaved  up  and  down,  cracked  open  as  it  rose,  and  when 
the  cracks  closed  again  as  it  sank,  streams  of  water  spouted 
up  from  them  like  fountains,  high  into  the  air.  Four  per- 
sons were  killed,  and  but  two  wounded. 

We  could  learn  very  little  as  to  the  probability  of  getting 
quarters  for  the  night  nearer  Corinth,  but  determined  tc 
push  on.  A  mile  from  Kalamaki  our  road  passed  over  the 
site  of  the  renowned  Isthmian  games.  The  inclosure  of 
the  stadium  is  still  distinctly  marked  by  the  heaps  of  hewn 
stones,  but  of  the  temple  of  Neptune  there  are  only  shape- 
less fragments.  As  we  rode  over  the  deserted  stadium, 
Braisted  broke  a  branch  of  Isthmian  pine  as  a  souvenir 
and  I  repeated  Schiller's  "  Gods  of  Greece :" 

"  Then  like  palaces  arose  your  temples, 

Lived  for  you  each  old,  heroic  game ; 
At  the  Isthmus,  rich  with  crowns  and  garlands, 
Chariots  thundered  to  the  goal  of  fame." 

Two  miles  more  brought  us  to  the  quarries  whence 
Corinth  and  the  Isthmian  temples  were  built — vast  hollows; 
trailed  by  the  hewn  rock,  their  extent  denoting  the  amount 


i54  TBAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   BUSSIA. 

of  material  drawn  from  them.  The  plain  was  part.ally  cul 
tivated,  its  rich,  mellow  loam,  more  moist  than  that  of 
Attica,  producing  admirable  crops  of  wheat. 

We  stopped  at  the  village  of  Hexamilia,  about  an  hour's 
ride  from  Corinth,  as  there  was  no  habitable  house  in  the 
latter  town,  and  the  tents  furnished  by  government  barely 
sufficed  for  the  destitute  inhabitants.  Hexamilia,  though 
so  near  Corinth,  suffered  less  than  Kalamaki,  which  appears 
to  have  been  directly  on  the  line  of  the  greatest  vibration 
Lutraki,  only  five  miles  distant,  on  the  western  shore  of 
the  Isthmus,  escaped  with  comparatively  trifling  damage. 
We  found  quarters  for  the  night  in  the  house  of  the 
Demarch — a  handsome  two-story  building  of  hewn  stone, 
one  end  of  which  had  been  thrown  down.  Nevertheless, 
enough  was  left  to  shelter  us  from  the  rain,  which  began  to 
fall  heavily.  A  few  of  the  houses  in  the  village  were 
levelled  to  the  earth,  but  the  most  of  them  escaped  with 
cracked  walls,  broken  roofs,  or  the  loss  of  a  gable.  No- 
body was  injured,  but  among  the  hills  to  the  south 
four  peasants  and  about  thirty  goats  were  killed  by  the 
falling  of  a  mass  of  rock,  in  the  grotto  where  they  were 

lying. 

The  Demarch,  who  was  a  good-humored,  communicative 
fellow,  with  rather  more  than  the  ordinary  intelligence, 
informed  me  that  he  was  in  Corinth  when  the  earthquake 
occurred.  In  a  moment,  he  says,  came  the  thunder  and 
the  shock.  The  houses  all  fell  together,  and  there  was 
such  a  dust  that  one  man  could  not  see  another,  standing 
near  him  Many  of  the  citizens  were  at  the  office  of  the 
Demarch,  intending  to  elect  new  candidates.  The  walli 


THE   EARTHQUAKE   AT   COKINTH.  155 

fell,  but  fortunately  fell  outwards,  and  nobody  was  injured 
In  another  house  a  number  of  children  were  dancing,  while 
their  mothers  were  gathered  together  to  talk  scandal.  The 
latter  succeeded  in  holding  up  the  falling  roof  until  the 
children  escaped,  and  were  then,  in  turn,  rescued  by  some 
men.  Twenty-five  persons  were  killed  on  the  spot,  or 
afterwards  died  of  their  wounds,  and  the  number  wounded 
was  estimated  at  over  fifty.  This  slight  loss  of  life,  when 
compared  with  the  extent  of  the  catastrophe,  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  the  earthquake  took  place  between  ten  and 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  when  the  inhabitants  are 
mostly  out  of  doors. 

While  the  Demarch  was  relating  to  me  these  particulars, 
there  was  suddenly  a  sound  like  distant  artillery,  and  the 
house  trembled  slightly.  "  There  it  is  again !"  said  he ; 
"  we  have  heard  it  every  hour  or  two  since  the  beginning." 
In  the  evening  there  was  another  shock ;  two  during  the 
night ;  and  at  six  in  the  morning,  while  we  yet  lay  in  bed, 
one  so  violent  that  some  stones  were  dislodged  from  the 
wall,  and  rattled  on  the  floor  over  our  heads.  This  latter 
was  accompanied  by  a  deep,  hollow,  rumbling  sound,  which 
seemed  at  the  same  time  to  be  under  and  around  us.  It 
was  probably  my  imagination  which  gave  me  the  impression 
that  it  came  from  the  west  and  rolled  towards  the  east 
Although  we  were  convinced  that  the  worst  was  past,  and 
that  we  were  no  longer  in  any  danger  from  these  shocks, 
their  uncertain  recurrence  and  mysterious  threatening 
character  gave  us  a  vague  feeling  of  alarm.  The  Demarch, 
his  brother,  their  wives  And  children,  our  agoyats  and  our 
selves  all  slept  on  the  unpaved  floor  of  the  house,  but  tli€ 


156  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

family  were  so  accustomed  to  the  shocks  that  they  nc 
longei  paid  any  attention  to  them. 

As  it  was  raining  next  morning,  we  waited  until  nearly 
eleven  o'clock,  when,  finding  no  signs  of  a  change,  we  set 
out  in  the  storm.  A  ride  of  half  an  hour  brought  us  tc 
Corinth — or  rather  what  had  been  Corinth — for,  although 
a  few  houses  were  standing,  they  were  cracked  from  top 
to  bottom,  and  had  been  abandoned.  The  greater  part  of 
the  city  was  a  shapeless  heap  of  ruins,  and  most  of  the  in- 
habitants seemed  to  have  deserted  it.  Some  tents  had 
been  pitched,  and  a  few  rough  wooden  barracks  erected, 
which,  at  least,  sheltered  them  from  the  weather.  The 
force  of  the  shock  appeared  to  have  been  of  about  the 
same  violence  as  at  Kalamaki.  All  accounts  concurred  in 
representing  it  as  a  sudden,  vertical  upheaval,  not  accom- 
panied with  horizontal  waves,  and  the  fact  that  nearly  all 
the  walls  fell  outward,  verifies  this  statement.  The  central 
line  of  the  force  undoubtedly  passed  through  or  very  near 
Corinth  and  Kalamaki,  in  a  direction  about  E.  N.  E.  and 
W.  S.  W.  On  either  side  of  this  central  line  the  force 
must  have  diminished  in  very  rapid  proportion,  as  Hexa- 
milia,  not  two  miles  distant  from  it,  appeared  to  have  been 
visited  by  a  shock  considerably  less  violent,  and  a  village 
five  or  six  miles  westward  from  Corinth,  suffered  but  little 
damage.  At  Megara,  on  one  side,  and  Argos  on  the  other, 
the  earthquake  was  sensibly  felt,  but  without  producing 
the  slightest  effect. 

The  shocks,  which  still  continued,  were  confined  to  tht 
neighborhood  of  Corinth.  They  did  not  pass  the  Geranean 
Mountains  on  the  north,  or  that  range  on  the  south  which 


THE   EARTHQUAKE   AT   CORESTH.  151} 

divides  the  valley  of  Nemea  from  the  plain  of  Argos.  This 
limitation  of  the  operations  of  the  earthquake  is  its  most 
singular  feature,  enabling  us  to  determine  very  nearly  the 
central  point  of  the  subterranean  forces,  which  coincides 
with  the  centre  of  the  Isthmus  at  its  narrowest  part.  Thr 
Government  decided  to  remove  the  town  of  Corinth  to  a 
new  site  on  the  plain  two  or  three  miles  nearer  the  Gulf 
No  commencement  had  been  made,  however,  and  I  doubt 
whether  the  people  will  second  this  measure.  The  Isthmus 
is  undoubtedly  the  best  site  for  a  commercial  city  in  all 
Greece,  and  the  King  and  his  advisers  committed  a  great 
oversight  in  establishing  the  capital  at  Athens,  instead  of 
building  up  a  new  one  here.  Athens  never  can  be  an 
important  city ;  its  life  depends  only  on  that  of  the  Court. 
It  is  a  very  small  sort  of  a  Washington — a  village  with 
public  buildings.  Here,  however,  is  the  saddle  of  Greece, 
whose  warm  flanks  are  bathed  in  the  Mediterranean,  and 
whose  head,  snorting  for  Constantinople,  is  thrust  into 
Thessaly.  A  city  mounted  here,  would  have  one  foot  in 
either  sea,  taking  the  commerce  of  the  Adriatic  from 
Patras,  that  of  the  Orient  from  Syra,  and  yet  uniting  the 
conflicting  interests  and  jealousies  of  Greece  as  nothing 
else  could  have  done.  Ah,  what  a  chance  was  lost  through 
the  classic  taste  and  practical  stupidity  of  old  Ludwig  of 
Bavaria  I 

We  paused  awhile  before  the  seven  ancient  Doric  co- 
'umns  of  the  temple  of  Neptune,  or  the  Corinthian  Jove, 
or  Minerva  Chalcidis,  or  whatever  else  they  may  be. 
Rough  as  these  monoliths  are,  evidently  erected  long 
before  the  perfect  period  of  Grecian  architecture,  one 


158  TRAVELS    IX    GREECE    AND   RUSSIA. 

nevertheless  finds  the  simph  grace  of  the  Doric  order  in 
their  worn,  unwieldy  masses.  One  of  them  has  been  vio- 
lently split  by  the  earthquake,  and  a  very  slight  impulst 
would  throw  it  against  its  nearest  fellow,  probably  to  pre- 
dpitate  that  in  turn. 

Passing  around  the  giant  Acropolis,  whose  summit  was 
enveloped  in  clouds,  we  entered  the  valley  of  a  stream 
which  comes  down  from  the  Nemean  Hills.  It  rained 
slowly  and  steadily,  and  the  deserted  landscape  was  doubly 
dismal  under  the  lowering  sky.  We  toiled  on  for  four 
hours,  and  finally  took  refuge  from  the  weather  in  the 
khan  of  Kourtessa,  near  the  site  of  Cleonae.  This  place, 
too,  had  suffered  from  the  earthquake.  Of  the  three  houses, 
two  were  uninhabitable,  the  largest  belonging  to  an  officer 
of  the  gend'armerie,  being  terribly  shattered,  with  both 
gable-ends  thrown  outwards.  The  young  keeper  of  the 
khan,  Agamemnon  by  name,  received  us  kindly,  and  we 
whiled  away  the  evening  in  listening  to  the  songs  of  a 
blind,  wandering  Homer,  who  sang  violently  through  his 
nose,  accompanying  himself  with  a  cither,  equally  nasal  and 
discordant.  The  character  of  the  music  was  entirely 
Oriental — monotonous,  irregular,  and  with  a  prolongatio 
of  the  final  syllables  of  every  line,  which  always  interrupted 
the  tempo.  Some  of  the  more  lively  airs  suggested  Irish 
melodies.  There  were  admirable  things  in  the  themes — 
especially  in  a  song  of  the  Klepts — but  they  needed  to 
be  reduced  to  order  and  hannoni/.ed.  After  dinner  came 
the  same  terrific,  rumbling  sound  we  hail  heard  in  the 
morning,  with  a  sudden  strong  vertical  motion,  which  made 
the  house  rock  like  a  reed  in  the  wind.  The  shock  lasted 


THE    EARTHQUAKE    AT    CORINTH.  159 

from  twenty  to  thirty- seconds,  and  the  vibrations  contii  ued 
at  least  a  minute  longer.  The  timbers  cracked,  and  the 
walls  gave  signs  of  splitting.  A  very  little  additional  force 
would  have  brought  the  house  down  upon  our  heads. 

During  the  night,  I  was  awakened  by  the  crash  of  a  fall- 
ing wall  belonging  to  the  large  house ;  the  shock  was 
already  over.  But  at  daylight  we  were  visited  by  the 
most  powerful  of  all.  The  violence  of  the  upward  and 
downward  motion  caused  the  walls  on  either  side  of  us  to 
crack  open  and  separate,  with  a  horrid,  grinding  sound, 
while  many  of  the  smaller  stones  fell  around  us.  We  were 
in  bed,  and  felt  rather  concerned  for  our  safety,  but  were 
too  intent  on  watching  the  phenomenon  to  take  measures 
of  escape.  I  felt  relieved,  however,  on  finding  that  the 
storm  was  breaking  away,  so  that  we  could  soon  put  our- 
selves on  a  more  stable  soil  than  that  of  Corinth. 

By  ten  o'clock  we  had  climbed  to  the  crest  of  the  hills, 
<*nd  the  plain  of  Argos,  crossed  by  long  streaks  of  golden 
morning  light,  lay  below  us.  On  the  right  the  mountains 
of  Arcadia  rose  in  a  rampart  of  glittering  snow,  with  the 
hills  of  Erymanthus  and  the  pyramidal  peak  of  Cyllene 
still  further  to  the  west.  Beyond  the  emerald  pavement 
of  the  plain  rose  the  Acropolis  of  Argos  against  the  purple 
line  of  the  Argolic  Gulf.  The  glorious  landscape  swam  in 
a  transparent  vapor,  which  still  further  softened  its  exqui- 
site harmony  of  color.  The  pink  mountain  headlands, 
painted  with  the  tenderest  streakings  of  silvery-gray 
shadow,  had  a  play  of  light  like  that  upon  folded  silk,  and 
the  whole  scone  was  clear  and  luminous  in  tone,  as  if 
painted  upon  glass.  It  is  difficult  to  picture  in  words  the 


160  TRAVELS   IN   GKEECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

pure,  aerial  delicacy  and  loveliness  of  coloring  which  tinted 
the  Argive  world  below  us — and  I  have  not  the  magic  pen 
cil  of  Turner,  who  alone  oould  have  caught;  its  transitory 
splendor 


CHAPTER    XV. 

ABGOLIS       AND       ARCADIA. 

I  HAVE  nothing  to  add  to  the  descriptions  of  the  ruined 
fortresses  of  Argolis,  given  by  previous  travellers.  Of  course, 
we  sat  in  the  Gate  of  Lions,  at  Mycenae,  and,  as  in  duty 
bound,  thought  of  bully  Agamemnon,  Orestes,  Elect ra,  and 
aU  the  other  renowned  old  creatures  who  either  were  or 
were  not  (see  Grote's  History),  admired  the  grand  Pelasgio 
masonry  of  Tiryns,  and  climbed  the  seventy-two  rows  of 
rock-he wn  seats  in  the  theatre  of  Argos.  To  one  who  has  seen 
Egypt.  Baalbec,  and  Elephanta,  these  ruins,  apart  from  their 
historical  interest,  are  not  very  impressive.  Athens,  Sunium, 
Egina,  and  Pnigalia,  comprise  all  that  is  left  of  the  architec 
tural  splendors  of  Greece ;  the  rest  is  walls,  foundations, 
cattered  stones,  and  a  few  very  dilapidated  theatres.  The 
traveller  must  bring  the  magic  of  immortal  associations 
with  him,  or  he  will  be  disappointed. 

I  found  the  "  thirsty  Argos  "  a  rich,  well-watered  plain 
— at  least  hi  March.  The  Inachos  rolled  a  full,  swift  stream 
to  the  Gulf,  and  the  lush  grain  was  shooting  up  so  vigor 


162  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

ously  that  two  or  three  weeks  more  would  see  it  in  head 
Argos  is  a  mean,  filthy  town,  with  a  most  indolent  j  opula- 
tion,  if  the  crowds  of  loafers  at  all  the  coffee-houses  might 
be  taken  as  a  specimen.  The  country  people  were  pitching 
quoits  in  the  streets,  and  at  a  cafe  where  we  stopped  to 
rest,  twenty-five  men  were  playing  cards.  A  Greek  officer, 
who  spoke  some  French,  accosted  us.  I  learned  afterwards 
that  he  had  been  banished  from  Athens  on  account  of  his 
peculations  being  discovered.  The  richness  of  the  soil,  he 
said  to  me,  makes  the  people  idle :  they  raise  two  crops  & 
year,  have  amply  sufficient  for  all  their  wants,  and  work  no 
more  than  they  can  help.  "  You  want  a  Governor  despotic 
enough,"  I  "^d  to  him,  "to  take  all  these  able-bodied 
idlers  and  make  them  clean  the  Augean  stable  in  which 
they  live."  In  fact,  all  the  labors  of  Hercules  need  doing 
over  again  in  Greece.  The  Hydra  inhabits  the  Lernaean 
marsh ;  the  lion  crouches  in  the  valley  of  Nemea ;  and  there 
is  more  than  one  wild  boar  hi  the  forests  of  Erymanthus. 
Fever,  flood,  drouth,  and  fire  are  at  their  old  ravages,  and 
they  are  doubly  ferocious  when  they  have  reconquered  a 
territory  once  wrested  from  them. 

We  spent  a  night  in  Nauplia,  and  climbed  the  embattled 
rock  of  the  Palamidi.  The  town  is  small,  being  squeezed 
into  a  narrow  space  between  the  lower  fortress  and  the 
water.  The  houses  are  lofty,  well-built,  and  dirty,  as  in 
Italian  seaports,  and  there  are  two  diminutive  squares,  one 
of  which  has  a  monument  in  honor  of  Demetrius  Ypsilanti. 
It  has  been  decreed  to  erect  another  to  Capo  d'Istria — the 
only  efficient  ruler  Greece  has  had — but  some  years  have 
pawed,  and  the  first  block  of  marble  is  not  yet  cut.  IB 


ARGOLTS    AND    ARCADIA.  163 

place  of  it,  we  found  triumphal  arches  of  calico  comme 
mornting  the  recent  festival,  and  an  Ionic  pillar  with  au 
Astonishing  capital  supporting  a  pasteboard  figure  of  the 
King.  Workmen  were  just  taking  to  pieces  the  Doric 
columns  of  lath  and  muslin  which  had  been  erected  in  the 
principal  streets.  Outside  the  gate  there  was  anothci 
triumphal  arch,  the  supports  of  which  had  given  way,  so 
that  it  leaned  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  threatening 
to  fall  and  block  up  the  road.  I  could  not  look  upon  these 
monstrous  decorations  without  intense  disgust.  One  does 
not  expect  Greece  to  build  new  Parthenons  all  at  once, 
but  such  pitiful  gimcrackery  is  worthy  only  of  Ashantee  or 
Timbuctoo. 

The  morning  was  mild  and  cloudless.  A  light  breeze 
blew  from  the  west,  scarcely  rippling  the  beryl  sheet  of  the 
Argolic  Gulf,  while  the  wide,  amphitheatric  plain  basked 
in  the  fairest  sunshine.  We  mounted  the  steps  of  the 
fortress — 860  in  all — and  were  well  repaid,  not  so  much  by 
the  fortifications  as  by  the  glorious  Argive  panorama 
around  us.  The  position  is  one  of  immense  strength,  the 
lock  being  almost  precipitous  on  the  sea  side.  Eastward, 
t  falls  into  a  narrow  ridge,  connecting  it  with  two  hills  of 
nearly  equal  height,  but  too  distant  to  contmand  it.  The 
fortress,  like  all  Venetian  works  of  the  kind,  is  much  larger 
than  necessary,  consisting  of  several  detached  forts  inclosed 
within  one  wall  of  circuit.  The  principal  batteries  bear 
the  names  of  Phocion,  Epaminondas,  and  Miltiades.  The 
[•lace  is  now  used  as  a  State  Prison,  and  we  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  some  ten  or  twelve  manacle  3  brigands  in 
a  dirty  court-yard. 


164  TRAVELS    IX   GREECE   A>TD    RUSSIA. 

We  were  two  days  in  riding  from  Nauplia  to  Tripolitza 
There  is  a  broad  carriage-road  the  whole  way,  a  distance 
of  nearly  forty  miles,  the  construction  of  which  is  due  to 
local  enterprise,  300,000  drachmas  having  been  subscribed 
in  Tripolitza  alone.  The  only  fault  in  the  work  is  that  it  is 
too  well  done  for  the  needs  of  the  country.  It  is  carried 
over  two  branches  of  the  Parthenian  Mountains  by  zigzaga 
of  so  easy  a  grade  that  the  actual  distance  is  trebled,  and 
horsemen  stick  to  the  old  road  in  preference.  The  work- 
manship is  good,  although  a  little  ragged  in  places,  and  the 
bridges  are  admirable.  The  Government  newspaper,  the 
Elpis,  recently  stated,  in  its  summing  up  of  the  benefits 
which  Greece  has  derived  from  the  reign  of  Otho,  the 
amount  of  the  roads  which  have  been  made.  I  find  the  total 
length  of  these  roads  to  be  less  than  1 20  miles ;  while,  if  we 
subtract  those  which  have  been  constructed  simply  for  the 
convenience  of  the  Court,  and  not  for  the  good  of  the 
country,  there  will  remain  barely  fifty  miles.  The  Greeks 
pay,  and  their  friends  say  :  "  Don't  ask  too  much  of  us ;  we 
are  young  and  poor ;  we  have  not  the  means  to  accomplish 
more."  Yes  ;  but  you  build  a  palace  for  two  millions  ol 
dollars ;  you  support  a  useless  army  of  military  and  nav:ri 
leeches ;  you  give  to  the  Court  whenever  the  Court  asks, 
and  you  give  nothing  to  the  people.  You  adopt  the  policy 
of  Venice,  the  Eastern  Empire,  Turkey  even,  instead  of 
looking  for  example  and  guidance  to  the  countries  which 
now  lead  the  van  of  civilization. 

Riding  southward  along  the  beach,  after  leaving  Nauplia, 
we  passed  the  Government  stml,  established  for  the  purpose1 
of  rearing  cavalry  horses.  Frai^ois  knew  the  Stallmeister 


ARGOLIS    ANT)    ARCADIA.  16? 

a  Mecklenburger  named  Springfeldt,  who  had  long  been  in 
Russian  service  at  Warsaw.  We  spent  an  hour  with  the 
tall,  strapping,  good-humored  fellow,  who  was  delighted  to 
talk  German  again.  He  had  been  there  three  months,  and 
ieemed  very  well  satisfied  with  his  situation.  The  stallions. 
he  said,  were  mostly  of  Arabic  blood,  some  of  them  ver\ 
fine  animals ;  but  no  judgment  had  been  exercised  hi  tht 
breeding,  and  the  colts  were  generally  inferior.  He  enter- 
tained us  with  "pitch-wine"  (as  he  called  it),  of  excellent 
quality,  at  five  cents  a  bottle. 

At  the  end  of  the  Argive  plain  is  the  little  village  of 
Miles,  where  Ypsilanti  gained  a  splendid  victory  over  the 
troops  of  Ibrahim  Pasha,  and  Col.  Miller  greatly  distin- 
guished himself.  On  the  left  is  the  Lernasan  marsh.  The 
road  now  climbed  across  the  Parthenian  mountains,  with  a 
glorious  backward  view  from  the  summit  ridge.  Nauplia, 
the  gulf  and  plain,  lay  at  our  very  feet,  bathed  in  a  flood  of 
airy  gold,  while  the  summits  at  hand  rose  dark  and  cold 
under  the  descending  folds  of  a  heavy  rain-cloud.  Beyond 
the  ridge  opened  a  stony  basin,  six  miles  in  diameter,  and 
arid  enough  to  be  the  home  of  the  Danaida?.  Passing  the 
ruins  of  a  pyramid,  we  descended  to  our  resting-place  for 
the  night,  the  khan  of  Achladokambos  (the  pear-garden). 
At  the  village  of  the  same  name,  on  the  hill  above,  the 
people  stole  the  King's  silver  plate  when  he  breakfasted 
there  on  on*  of  his  early  journeys  through  the  Morea. 

The  next  day  we  crossed  a  second  range  of  the  mountains 
The  road  was  thronged  with  asses  laden  with  bar-iron  or 
bales  of  dry-goods,  bound  inland,  while  an  equal  number, 
carrying  skins  of  oil  or  great  panniers  of  eggs — provision 


166  TRAVELS   IX   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

for  the  approaching  Easter  days — descended  to  the  coast, 
We  also  met  a  convoy  of  mules,  laden  with  money,  pro- 
tected by  a  guard  of  soldiers.  From  the  top  of  the  ridge 
we  saw  the  great  central  plain  of  Arcadia,  which  is  between 
two  and  three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Here  the  season  was  nearly  a  month  later  than  on  the 
plain  of  Argos,  and  the  country  had  a  gray,  wintry  look. 
There  is  no  sufficient  drainage  for  this  plain,  and  hence 
parts  of  it  are  marshy  and  miasmatic.  One  to  whom  poetry 
has  made  the  name  of  Arcadia  a  golden  sound,  the  key  to 
landscapes  of  ideal  loveliness,  skies  of  perpetual  Spring,  and 
a  pure  and  happy  race  of  men,  will  be  bitterly  disappoint  ed 
as  he  descends  from  the  gusty  Parthenian  Hills.  In  this 
bleak  region,  surrounded  by  cold,  naked  mountains,  with 
its  rough  barbaric  Slavonian  population,  and  its  filthy  den 
of  a  capital,  he  will  not  recognise  ode  feature  of  the  Arca- 
dia of  his  dreams.  But  so  it  is :  the  "  bella  etd  deW  oro"  of 
Tasso  and  Hesiod  never  existed  and  never  can  exist,  and 
Arcadia,  which  is  for  us  the  musical  name  of  a  beautiful 
impossibility,  signifies  no  more  to  the  modern  Greek  than 
Swampscot  or  Sheboygan. 

Tripolitza  soon  appeared  in  sight,  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  which  inclose  the  plain  on  the  west.  It  is  an 
immense  straggling  village — a  mere  mass  of  red  tile-roofs — 
and  we  found  the  interior  even  less  attractive  than  the  dis 
laut  view.  Crooked  streets,*  heaped  with  filth  and  inter- 
rupted by  pools  of  black  mud,  lead  between  rows  of  roughly- 
built,  dirty  stone  houses,  inhabited  by  people  as  rough  and 
dirty  as  they.  On  entt-rini;  the  place,  we  were  assailed  by 
a  multitude  of  beggars :  all  the  children  seemed  to  have 


ARGOLIS    AND   ARCADIA.  16 « 

adopted  this  profession.  The  female  costume  is  picturesque, 
and  struck  me  as  being  truly  antique  in  character.  It  con- 
sists of  a  white  muslin  petticoat,  over  which  is  a  short  tunic 
of  blue  cloth,  with  a  blight  red  border,  open  in  front ;  a 
girdle  around  the  waist,  sleeves  of  yellow  or  some  gay 
color,  and  a  loose  white  handkerchief  enveloping  the  hoad. 
Most  of  the  men  have  Slavonic  features,  but  I  saw,  in  all, 
perhaps  half  a  dozen  true  Hellenic  faces. 

In  the  afternoon  we  set  off  for  Mantinsea,  distant  eight 
miles  to  the  northward.  Four  miles  from  Tripolitza,  the 
plain  turns  westward  around  an  angle  of  the  mountains, 
disclosing  a  higher  and  drier  level,  abounding  in  vineyards 
which  were  separated  by  hedges  of  thorn  and  blackberry. 
Our  road  was  upon  green  meadow  turf,  straight  across  the 
plain.  The  low,  white  walls  of  Mantinaea  now  met  the 
eye,  at  the  foot  of  a  round,  gray  hill,  over  which  towered 
the  snow-streaked  summit  of  Orchomenos.  On  approach- 
ing the  place,  we  could  readily  imagine  the  spot  where 
Epaminondas  fell,  and  the  part  of  the  hill  from  which  he 
directed  the  battle  in  his  dying  moments,  until  a  second 
daughter  of  victory  was  born  to  perpetuate  his  lineage. 
The  foundations  of  the  turreted  walls  can  be  traced 
throughout  their  whole  extent,  the  first  three  courses  being 
as  perfect  in  many  places  as  when  first  laid.  It  is  conjec- 
tured that  the  remaining  portion  was  of  brick. 

Black  sun-clouds  rested  on  all  the  mountains,  as  we  rode 
away  from  Tripolitza.  For  three  hours  we  followed  a 
rocky  bridle-path,  crossing  the  ridge  at  an  altitude  of  about 
4,000  feet.  By  noon  the  chilly  uplands  were  passed ;  the 
hills  suddenly  fell  away,  and  \ve  saw  far  below  us,  warm  in 


168  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

the  sunshine,  and  stretching  off  to  the  blue  Lycsean  Moun 
tains,  which  girdled  it  with  a  splendid  belt,  the  valley  oi 
the  Alpheus.  Dense  copses  of  shrubbery,  studded  with 
gnarled  oak  trees,  covered  the  mountain  sides;  the  blue 
crocus  and  pale  star-flower  spangled  the  sunny  banks; 
fresh  grain-fields  and  meadows  of  sprouting  turf  bright- 
ened the  immense  valley,  and  the  red  roofs  of  towns,  with 
cypresses  rising  from  their  midst,  dotted  it  here  arid  there. 
Away  to  the  right  was  Karytena,  the  rock-fortress  of  Colo- 
cotroni ;  in  front  Sinanu,  on  the  site  of  ancient  Megalo- 
polis ;  and  to  the  left,  at  the  entrance  of  a  defile  command- 
ing the  road  to  Sparta,  Leondari. 

Descending  to  the  floor  of  the  valley,  we  rode  over  th" 
oozy  turf  to  Sinanu,  a  scattering  town,  with  broad,  grassy 
streets.  We  met  many  shepherds  in  shaggy  sheepskin 
capotes  and  with  long  crooks  in  their  hands.  The  people 
came  in  a  body  to  the  dirty  little  cafe  where  we  halted,  in 
order  to  stare  at  us.  Three  or  four  spruce  young  palikars 
offered  to  accompany  us  to  the  theatre  of  Megalopolis. 
which  is  about  half  a  mile  to  the  north  of  the  town.  As 
Fran9ois  had  told  them  that  I  spoke  both  ancient  and 
modern  Greek,  they  plied  me  with  questions  the  whole 
way,  and  I  was  sorely  troubled  to  keep  up  my  reputation 
for  scholarship.  These  people  were  almost  entirely  of 
Slavonic  blood,  which  is  no  doubt  the  predominating 
Clement  in  Greece.  Groups  of  villagers  sat  in  the  sun  - 
happy  Arcadians! — and  skilfully  explored  each  other's 
heads.  Both  Sinanu  and  Leondari  were  very  rich  places 
under  the  Turks,  but  are  now  miserably  poor,  or  seem  to 
l>e  so.  The  country  Greeks  hide  their  money,  and  are 
therefore  often  richer  than  Vhey  appear. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

FOUR     DAYS     AMONG    THE     SPARTANS. 

LEONDARI,  where  we  passed  the  night,  is  on  the  frontiei 
of  Sparta,  but  still  in  Arcadia.  Here  Alpheus,  from  hie 
"  glacier  cold  "  on  Taygetus,  rushes  down  the  hills  hi  pur 
suit  of  his  Dorian  Arethusa.  Here  is  still  the  rural  paradise 
of  ancient  Greece,  with  its  pure  air,  its  sweet  waters,  its 
seclusion  and  peace — but  alas!  the  people.  We  overlooked 
long  tracts  of  oak  forests — nothing  but  oak — some  ancient 
trunks,  gnarled  and  hoary  with  a  thousand  years,  and 
younger  woods  covering  the  gently-rounded  knolls.  The 
morning  was  divinely  clear  and  brilliant,  but  cold,  with  a 
thin  sheet  of  ice  on  standing  water.  In  an  hour  and  a  half, 
after  threading  scattering  groves  of  oak  and  ilex,  we  passed 
•  low  bar  connecting  Taygetus  with  Menjelus  on  the  north, 
and  this,  as  I  rightly  guessed,  was  the  water-shed  between 
the  Alpheus  and  the  Eurotas — the  boundary  of  Sparta. 
In  the  splendor  of  the  day,  every  feature  of  the  landscape 
had  its  clearest  form  and  its  richest  coloring,  and  from  the 
beds  of  daisy  and  crocus  at  our  feet  to  the  snowy  pyramids 


170  TRAVELS   IX   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

of  Taygetus,  high  above  us,  everything  spoke  of  life  and 
of  Spring.  There  is  a  village  called  Longairiko,  in  a  very 
wild  position,  high  up  under  the  very  crest  of  the  moun 
tain,  which  supplies  the  Morea  with  physicians.  The  boys 
are  even  sent  to  France  and  Germany  to  complete  their 
studies.  During  the  day  we  met  with  numbers  of  peasants, 
driving  asses  laden  with  bundles  of  young  mulberry  and 
olive  trees,  from  the  nurseries  of  Sparta.  There  was  re 
freshing  evidence  of  improvement,  in  the  amount  of  new 
ground  brought  under  cultivation. 

As  we  approached  Sparta,  the  road  descended  to  the 
banks  of  the  Eurotas.  Traces  of  the  ancient  walls  which 
restrained  the  river  still  remain  in  places,  but,  in  his  shifting 
course,  he  has  swept  the  most  of  them  away,  and  spread 
his  gravelly  deposits  freely  over  the  bottoms  enclosed  be- 
tween the  spurs  of  the  hills.  The  clumps  of  poplar,  willow, 
and  sycamore  which  lined  the  stream,  and  the  thickets  of 
blackberry,  mastic,  ilex,  and  arbutus  through  which  our 
road  wound,  gave  the  scenery  a  charmingly  wild  and  rural 
aspect.  The  hills — deposits  of  alluvium  left  by  the  pre- 
Adamite  floods — took  the  most  remarkable  forms,  showing 
regular  terraces,  cones,  pyramids,  ami  bastions,  as  they  fell 
off  towards  the  river.  Towards  evening  we  saw,  at  a  dis- 
tance, the  white  houses  of  modern  Sparta,  and  presently 
some  indications  of  the  ancient  city.  At  first,  the  remains 
of  terraces  and  ramparts,  then  the  unmistakable  Hellenic 
walls,  and,  as  the  superb  plain  of  the  Eurotas  burst 
upon  us,  stretching,  in  -^mien-like  beauty,  to  the  foot 
of  the  abrupt  hills,  over  which  towered  the  sun-touched 
snows  of  Taygetus,  we  saw,  close  on  our  right,  almost 


FOUR   DATS   AMONG   THE   SPABTANS.  17  J 

the  only  relic  of  the  lost  ages— the  theatre.  Riding 
across  a  field  of  wheat,  which  extended  all  over  the 
scene  of  the  Spartan  gymnastic  exhibitions,  we  stood  on 
the  proscenium  and  contemplated  these  silent  ruins,  and 
the  broad  beautiful  landscape.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  views 
in  Greece — not  so  crowded  with  striking  points,  not  so 
splendid  in  associations  as  that  of  Athens,  but  larger, 
grander,  richer  in  coloring.  The  plain,  watered  by  the 
unfailing  Eurotas,  is  covered  with  luxuriant  vegetation,  and 
opens  its  fruitful  lap  to  the  noonday  sun.  In  warm  coun- 
tries water  is  the  great  fertilizer,  and  no  part  of  Greece  is 
so  well  supplied  in  this  respect  as  Sparta. 

Besides  the  theatre,  the  only  remains  are  some  masses  of 
Roman  brickwork,  and  the  massive  substructions  of  a  small 
temple  which  the  natives  call  the  tomb  of  Leonidas.  I 
walked  over  the  shapeless  rubbish  which  covers  the  five 
hills,  without  a  single  feeling  of  regret.  There  were  great 
fighters  before  Agamemnon,  and  there  are  as  brave  men  as 
Leonidas  to-day.  As  for  the  race  of  military  savages  whom 
Lycurgus — the  man  of  ice  and  iron — educated  here,  who 
would  wish  to  restore  them  ?  The  one  virtue  of  the  Spar- 
tans— bravery — is  always  exaggerated,  because  it  is  their 
only  noble  trait.  They  were  coarse,  cruel,  treacherous,  and 
dishonest,  and  while  they  acted  in  two  or  three  instances  as 
a  shield  to  Greece,  they  dealt  the  perfidious  stabs  through 
which  she  perished  at  last.  In  art,  literature,  science,  and 
philosophy,  we  owe  nothing  to  Sparta.  She  has  bequeathed 
to  us  only  a  few  individual  examples  of  splendid  heroism, 
and  a  code  which,  God  be  thanked,  can  never  be  pnt  in 
practice  again. 


172  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

We  spent  the  night  in  a  comfortable  house,  which 
actually  boasted  of  a  floor,  glass  windows,  and  muslin  cur- 
tains.  On  returning  to  the  theatre  in  the  morning,  we 
turned  aside  into  a  plowed  field  to  inspect  a  sarcophagus 
which  had  just  been  discovered.  It  still  lay  in  the  pit 
where  it  was  found,  and  was  entire,  with  the  exception  01 
the  lid.  It  was  ten  feet  long  by  four  broad,  and  was 
remarkable  in  having  a  division  at  one  end,  forming  a 
smaller  chamber,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the 
bones  of  a  child.  From  the  theatre  I  made  a  sketch  of  the 
valley,  with  the  dazzling  ridge  of  Taygetus  in  the  rear,  and 
Mistra,  the  mediaeval  Sparta,  hanging  on  the  steep  sides  of 
one  of  his  gorges.  The  sun  was  intensely  hot,  and  we  wore 
glad  to  descend  again,  making  our  way  through  tall  wheat, 
past  walls  of  Roman  brickwork  and  scattering  blocks  of 
the  older  city,  to  the  tomb  of  Leonidas.  This  is  said  to  be 
a  temple,  though  there  are  traces  of  vaults  and  passages 
beneath  the  pavement,  which  do  not  quite  harmonize  with 
such  a  conjecture.  It  is  composed  of  huge  blocks  of  brec- 
cia, some  of  them  thirteen  feet  long. 

I  determined  to  make  an  excursion  to  the  mountain  dis- 
trict of  Maina,  which  comprises  the  range  of  Taygetus,  and 
the  promontory  of  Tenarus,  between  the  Laconian  and 
Messenian  Gulfs.  This  is  a  region  rarely  visited  by  travel- 
lers, who  are  generally  frightened  off  by  the  reputation  of 
its  inhabitants,  who  are  considered  by  the  Greeks  to  be 
bandits  and  cut-throats  to  a  man.  The  Mainotes  are,  for 
the  most  part,  lineal  descendants  of  the  ancient  Spartans, 
and  from  the  decline  of  the  Roman  power  up  to  the  pre- 
sent century,  have  preserved  a  virtual  independence  in 


FOCJK   DATS    AMONG   THE    SPARTANS.  I7c 

their  mountain  fastnesses.  The  worship  of  tht  pagan 
deities  existed  among  them  as  late  as  the  eighth  century. 
They  were  never  conquered  by  the  Turks,  and  it  required 
considerable  management  to  bring  them  under  the  rule  of 
Otho.  A  Greek  poet,  fifty  years  ago,  writes  of  them : 
"  Let  all  honest  men  fly  from  them  as  from  a  serpent.  May 
the  plague  and  the  drought  blast  them  all!"  Dr.  Kalopo 
thakes,  a  born  Mainote,  who  received  his  medical  education 
in  Philadelphia,  assured  me,  however,  that  I  should  not 
meet  with  the  least  difficulty  in  travelling  through  the 
country.  My  principal  object  was  to  ascertain  whether  the 
ancient  Greek  face  and  form  still  exist  among  those  whose 
blood  may  be  presumed  to  be  purest  of  all  the  fragments 
of  the  ancient  stock.  A  thorough  investigation  of  the  cha- 
racter and  habits  of  the  people  necessarily  requires  a  fami- 
liar knowledge  of  the  language. 

Starting  at  noon,  we  passed  through  the  modern  Sparta, 
which  is  well  laid  out  with  broad  streets.  The  site  is 
superb,  and  in  the  course  of  time  the  new  town  will  take 
the  place  of  Mistra.  We  rode  southward,  down  the  valley 
of  the  Eurotas,  through  orchards  of  olive  and  mulberry. 
In  one  place  some  thirty  men  were  at  work,  digging  up  the 
plain  with  large  hoes,  in  order  to  plant  a  vineyard.  The 
proprietor,  a  handsomely-dressed  palikar,  with  pistols  in  his 
belt,  was  directing  the  labor.  We  now  entered  a  tangled 
maze  of  rough  alluvial  hills,  threaded  by  frequent  •  treams 
which  came  down  from  Taygetus.  Here  we  met  a  proces- 
sion of  ragged  but  very  good-humored  young  fellows,  the 
fast  of  whom  carried  a  cross  decorated  with  gilt  paper  and 
laurel  leaves.  A  Spartan,  who  was  riding  with  us,  sak1 


174  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   .AND   RUSSIA. 

they  had  been  celebrating  the  festival  of  St.  Luzaitw 
There  was  the  greatest  diversity  of  character  in  the  faces 
we  saw.  A  very  few  were  of  the  antique  type,  some  Turk- 
ish, many  Albanese  or  Slavonic,  and  some  actually  Irish  in 
every  respect.  Our  sailors  are  accustomed  to  call  the  Irish 
Greeks^  and  the  term  is  more  than  a  mere  chance.  There 
are  very  striking  points  of  resemblance  in  character — the 
same  vanity,  talent  for  repartee,  tenacity  of  religious  faith, 
and  happy  lack  of  forethought.  If  the  Greeks,  on  one 
hand,  are  more  temperate,  the  Irish,  on  t.  e  other,  are  more 
hospitable  ;  if  the  former  blunder  less,  the  latter  cheat  less. 

We  stopped  for  the  night  at  the  little  khan  of  Levetzova. 
When  Francois  last  visited  this  place,  fourteen  years  before, 
he  found  the  khanji  lying  dead  upon  the  floor,  having  just 
been  murdered.  It  was  a  case  of  blood  revenge,  and  the 
assassin  came  all  the  way  from  Smyrna  to  effect  his  pur- 
pose. I  asked  the  present  khanji  whether  the  country 
was  quiet.  "  Here  it  is  very  quiet,"  said  he,  "  but  as  for 
foreign  parts,  I  don't  know  how  it  is."  I  saw  some  cows 
pasturing  here,  quite  a  rare  sight  in  Greece,  where  genuine 
butter  is  unknown.  That  which  is  made  from  the  milk  of 
sheep  and  goats  is  no  better  than  mild  tallow.  The  people 
Informed  me,  however,  that  they  make  cheese  from  cow'a 
milk,  but  not  during  Lent.  They  are  now  occupied  with 
rearing  Paschal  lambs,  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  which  are 
slaughtered  in  Greece  on  Easter  Day. 

The  next  morning  we  rode  over  hills  covered  with  real 
txirfi  a  little  thin,  perhaps,  but  still  a  rare  sight  in  southern 
lands.  The  red  anemone  mantled  the  slopes  as  with  a  sheet 
of  fire ;  the  furze  bushes  shone  with  a  shower  of  golden 


FOUB   DATS   AMONG   THE  SPARTANS.  17£ 

blossoms,  which  wholly  concealed  their  prickly  stems,  and 
on  moist  banks  the  daisy,  violet,  buttercup,  crocus,  and  star 
wort  formed  mosaics  of  spring  bloom.  The  hills  were  dot 
ted  with  groves  of  the  oak  which  produces  valonia  or  nut 
galls.  But  for  the  mastic  and  oleander,  and  the  carob-trees, 
\vith  their  dark,  glossy  foliage,  I  could  have  believed  my- 
self among  the  German  hills  at  the  end  of  May.  In  two 
hours  we  entered  the  territory  of  Maina,  on  the  crest  of  a 
hill,  where  we  saw  Marathonisi  (the  ancient  Gythium), 
lying  warm  upon  the  Laconian  Gulf.  The  town  is  a  steep, 
iirty,  labyrinthine  place,  and  so  rarely  visited  by  strangers 
hat  our  appearance  created  quite  a  sensation.  Fran9ois, 
us  usual,  was  furious  at  being  catechised,  and  snubbed  the 
highest  officials  in  the  most  despotic  manner.  When  I 
remonstrated,  he  replied,  "  What  can  one  do  ?  If  I  ask, 
'Where  is  the  khan?'  instead  of  answering,  they  cry  out, 
'  Where  do  you  come  from  ?  where  are  you  going  to  ?  who 
are  the  strangers?  what  are  their  names?  how  old  are 
they?  what  do  they  travel  for?'  Diable!  If  it  was  a 
Turkish  country,  I  should  not  be  bothered  in  this  way. 
We  should  be  entertained,  we  should  eat,  drink,  and  smoke, 
before  we  heard  a  question ;  but  good  manners  among  the 
Turks  and  Christians  are  two  different  things !" 

We  took  refuge  in  a  cafe,  and  ate  our  ham  and  eggs  in 
public,  to  the  horror  of  the  orthodox  spectators.  I  made 
acquaintance  with  the  teacher  of  the  Government  school, 
who  gave  the  people  an  excellent  character,  but  lamented 
their  slowness  in  learning.  Fran 9013  also  found  an  old  ac- 
quaintance, a  former  fellow-soldier  in  Fabvier's  expedition 
against  Scio,  who  took  us  to  his  house  and  regaled  us  with 


1 76  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

coffee  and  preserved  quinces.  His  daughter,  a  slender, 
handsome  girl  of  sixteen,  waited  upon  us.  The  fathei 
complained  that  he  had  not  yet  saved  enough  for  her 
dowry,  as  he  could  not  expect  to  get  her  married  for  less 
than  two  thousand  drachmas  ($333).  For  this  reason  sons 
are  more  profitable  than  daughters  to  Greek  parents,  and 
of  course  much  more  welcome. 

As  the  road  beyond  Marathonisi  is  impracticable  for 
laden  horses,  we  engaged  two  mules,  and  set  out  for 
Tzimova,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Mainote  peninsula. 
This  is  the  only  road  across  Taygetus  which  is  passable  in 
winter,  as  there  is  a  very  sudden  and  singular  break  in  the 
high  snowy  range  between  the  two  ports.  After  leaving 
Marathonisi  and  the  barren  little  isle  (50  by  200  yards  in 
extent)  where  Paris  and  Helen  passed  the  first  night  after 
their  elopement,  the  scenery  suddenly  changed.  A  broad, 
rich  valley  opened  before  us,  crossed  by  belts  of  poplar 
and  willow  trees,  and  inclosed  by  a  semicircle  of  hills,  most 
of  which  were  crowned  with  the  lofty  towers  of  the  Mai- 
notes.  In  Maina  almost  every  house  is  a  fortress.  The 
law  of  blood  revenge,  the  right  of  which  is  transmitted 
from  father  to  son,  draws  the  whole  population  under  its 
bloody  sway  in  the  course  of  a  few  generations.  Life  is  a 
running  fight,  and  every  foe  slain  entails  on  the  slayer  a 
new  penalty  of  retr.biition  for  himself  and  his  descendants 
for  ever.  Previous  to  the  Revolution  most  of  the  Mainote 
families  lived  in  a  state  of  alternate  attack  and  siege. 
Their  houses  are  square  towers,  forty  or  fifty  feet  high, 
with  massive  walls,  and  windows  so  narrow  that  they  may 
be  used  as  loopholes  for  musketry.  The  first  story  is  at  a 


FOUR    DAYS    AMONG   THE   SPARTANS.  177 

considerable  distance  from  the  ground,  and  reached  b}  n 
long  ladder  which  can  be  drawn  up  so  as  to  cut  off  all  com- 
munication. Some  of  the  towers  are  further  strengthened 
by  a  semicircular  bastion,  projecting  from  the  side  most 
liable  to  attack.  The  families  supplied  themselves  with  tele- 
scopes, to  look  out  ibr  enemies  in  the  distance,  and  alwaya 
had  a  store  of  provisions  on  hand,  in  case  of  a  siege. 
Although  this  private  warfare  has  been  suppressed,  the  law 
of  revenge  exists. 

From  the  summit  of  the  first  range  we  overlooked  a 
wild,  glorious  landscape.  The  hills,  wooded  with  oak,  and 
swimming  in  soft  blue  vapor,  interlocked  far  before  us, 
inclosing  the  loveliest  green  dells  in  their  embraces,  and 
melting  away  to  the  break  in  Taygetus,  which  yawned  in 
the  distance.  On  the  right  towered  the  square,  embrasured 
castle  of  Passava,  on  the  summit  of  an  almost  inaccessible 
hill — the  site  of  the  ancient  Las.  Far  and  near,  the  lowei 
heights  were  crowned  with  tall  white  towers.  The  men 
wore  all  in  the  fields  plowing.  They  were  healthy,  tough, 
symmetrical  fellows,  and  there  was  old  Hellenic  blood  in 
their  veins.  They  greeted  us  in  a  friendly  way,  and  one 
whom  I  questioned  concerning  the  road  to  Tzimova,  an- 
swered :  "  It  is  four  hours  yet,  but  I  pray  you  to  forgive 
me,  for  the  road  is  very  bad."  For  two  or  three  hours  we 
threaded  a  terrific  gorge,  through  scenery  as  rugged  and 
grand  as  that  of  Norway.  On  every  side  were  unusual 
evidences  of  industry — enormous  heaps  of  stone  removed 
to  make  room  for  little  grain-plots,  barren  slopes  reclaimed 
by  artificial  water  courses,  and  terraces  climbing  the  moun 
tains  until  the  loftiest  strips  of  green  seemed  to  be  stud 


178  TRAVELS    IN    uKEECB   AND   RUSSIA. 

against  the  sheer  walls  of  rock.  Ou  expressing  my  delight 
at  seeing  such  signs  of  patient  labor,  Fran 9013.  who  shares 
the  usual  Greek  prejudice  against  the  Mainotes,  answered : 
*•'•  But  all  this  is  the  work  of  the  women.  The  men  are 
lazy  vagabonds,  who  sit  all  day  in  the  villages,  and  smoke 
paper  cigars.  The  country  is  too  poor  to  support  its 
population,  and  you  will  find  Syra  and  Smyrna  full  ot 
Mainote  porters."  There  may  be  some  truth  in  this 
accusation,  but  it  is  exaggerated. 

At  sunset,  after  climbing  a  rocky  staircase,  we  reached  3 
little  platform  between  the  opposing  capes  of  Taygetus, 
whence  we  saw  both  the  Laconian  and  Messeuian  Gulfs.  A 
still  more  dreary  landscape  lay  before  us,  and  there  were  no 
signs  of  Tzimova.  The  dusk  fell,  we  dismounted  and 
walked  behind  our  spent  horses,  and  so  two  hours  passed 
away.  .Fran9ois  heaped  anathemas  upon  the  head  of  his 
friend  in  Marathonisi.  "The  stupid  beast!"  he  exclaimed; 
"  he  told  us  it  was  only  four  hours  to  Tzimova,  and  we  have 
already  been  six  upon  the  road."  I  gave  him  a  cigar,  the 
moral  effect  of  which  was  soon  made  manifest.  "After 
all,"  he  added,  with  a  milder  voice,  between  the  whitfs, 
"  Demetri  meant  well  enough,  and  if  he  was  mistaken 
bout  the  distance,  it  is  perhaps  not  his  fault."  "  So, 
Fran9ois,"  I  remarked,  "you  find  that  smoking  improves 
your  temper?"  "Ah,  yes,"  he  answered,  "  my  body  is  tc 
biame  for  all  the  sins  I  ever  commit  ted.  I  can  trace  every 
one  to  the  fact  of  my  having  had  no  tobacco,  or  not  enough 
to  eat,  or  too  much  to  drink."  At  last  we  came  upon  olive 
groves,  glimmering  in  the  moonlight  like  the  ghosts  of 
trees,  and  then  the  scattered  towers  of  Tzimova.  I  had 


FOUB    DAYS    AMONG   THE   SPARTANS.  179 

neglected  to  procure  letters  from  Dr.  Kalopothakes  in 
Athens  to  his  relatives  here,  and  Franyois  had  but  one 
acquaintance,  whom  he  had  not  heard  of  for  fourteen  years; 
so  we  were  doubtful  whether  we  should  obtain  quarters 
for  the  uight.  Reaching  a  little  open  place,  however, 
where  some  men  were  assembled,  we  asked  whether  any 
one  would  receive  us  into  his  house.  Thereupon  stepped 
forth  a  man  with  instant  and  cordial  assent — and  to  our 
wonder  he  proved  to  be,  not  only  the  old  friend  of 
Francois,  but  one  of  the  relatives  of  my  friend,  the 
Doctor !  In  five  minutes  we  were  installed  in  the  clean  and 
comfortable  abode  of  his  Holiness,  the  Bishop,  who  was 
absent,  and  F.,  as  he  set  about  preparing  one  of  his 
marvellous  soups,  whispered  to  me:  "This  is  what  the 
Turks  call  destiny,  and,  ma  foi !  they  are  right.  An  hour 
ago  I  was  on  the  brink  of  despair,  and  now  the  gates  oi 
Paradise  are  opened." 

In  the  morning  we  visited  the  other  members  of  the 
house  of  Kalopothakes,  and  were  very  courteously  received. 
The  people  collected  to  stare  at  us,  and  a  pack  of  boys 
tramped  at  our  heels,  but  their  manners  were  entirely  kind 
and  friendly.  Here  the  Slavonic  element  predominated,  there 
being  few  Greek  faces  except  among  the  women.  The 
name  of  the  place  has  recently  been  changed  to  Areopolis, 
though  I  cannot  find  that  any  ancient  city  of  that  name 
ever  existed  here.  As  we  started  in  the  morning  on  our 
ivay  up  the  western  base  of  the  Taygetus,  a  fierce-looking 
palikar  in  fustanella  and  scarlet  drawers  came  towards  us, 
jumping  over  the  stone  fences  of  the  gardens.  He  *hook 
hands  with  us,  scanned  us  from  head  to  foot,  and  then, 


180  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND    RUSSIA.. 

turning  to  the  Tzimovites  who  were  escorting  us,  asked, 
'Who  are  these?"  "They  are  Englishmen — travellers," 
was  the  answer.  "You  will  go  to  Vitylo:  that  is  my 
town,"  said  he  to  me — "echete  eg >eian  /"  (may  you  have 
health)  and  forthwith  strode  away.  He  was  the  chief  o« 
Vitylo,  which  is  only  about  three  miles  north  of  Tzimo\  a, 
although  we  were  two  hours  on  the  way,  so  terrific  is  the 
mountain  road. 

Vitylo  is  built  on  the  brow  of  a  precipice,  more  than  a 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  Our  road,  winding  back  and 
forth  along  the  face  of  the  rock,  was  like  a  path  made  by 
the  infernal  powers  over  the  mountains  which  guarded 
Eden.  Far  up,  apparently  trembling  in  the  air,  as  if  giddy 
with  their  position,  the  tower-dwellings  of  the  town  over- 
hung us,  but  the  sheer  yellow  rocks,  piled  upon  each  other 
like  huge  steps,  were  draped  with  all  manner  of  wild  vines, 
flowers,  and  ivy,  and  every  narrow  shelf  between  was  a 
garden  of  velvet  soil,  out  of  which  grew  olive  and  fig 
trees  of  enormous  size.  The  people  at  work  in  these 
gardens  were  all  armed.  They  wove  a  costume  something 
like  that  of  the  Cretans,  and  the  stamp  of  ancient  Greece 
was  upon  their  faces.  A  handsome,  fierce  boy,  who  was 
leaning  over  the  edge  of  a  rock  above  the  road,  looked  me 
full  in  the  face,  and  asked,  with  a  sort  of  savage  suspicion, 
"  What  do  you  want  here  ?"  The  town  was  crowded  with 
idlers,  with  knives  in  their  belts  and  cigars  in  theii  mouths. 
Some  twenty  girls,  who  came  down  from  the  m  mntains, 
aach  with  a  donkey-load  of  furze  upon  her  back,  resembled 
antique  goddesses  in  a  menial  disguise.  No  dirt  or  laboi 
could  conceal  their  symmetry,  and  the  barbarism  of  a 


FOUB   DAYS    AMONG   THE   SPARTANS.  181 

thous-and  years  had  not  destroyed  the  type  of  their  ancient 
race. 

There  is  a  curious  story  connected  with  Vitylo.  About 
a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  say  the  people,  emigration 
from  Mania  into  Corsica  was  frequent ;  among  others,  the 
family  of  Kalomiris,  or  Kalomeros  (both  names  ate  men- 
tioned), from  Vitylo,  who,  soon  after  their  settlement  in 
Corsica,  translated  their  name  into  Italian— Bonaparte. 
From  this  family  came  Napoleon,  who  was  therefore  of 
Mainote,  or  ancient  Spartan  blood.  Pietro  Mavromakhalis, 
it  is  said,  when  he  visited  Napoleon  at  Trieste,  claimed  him 
as  a  fellow-countryman  on  the  faith  of  this  story.  The 
M.-iinotes  implicitly  believe  it :  the  emigration  at  the  time 
mentioned  is  a  matter  of  history,  and  the  fact  that  the  name 
of  Bonaparte  previously  existed  in  Italy,  is  no  proof  that 
the  Corsican  Bonapartes  may  not  originally  have  been  the 
Kalomeros  of  Maina.  The  thing  is  possible  enough,  and 
somebody  who  is  sufficiently  interested  in  the  present  race 
of  Bonapartes  to  make  researches,  would  probably  be  able 
to  settle  the  question. 

Our  road  for  the  remainder  of  the  day  was  indescribably 
bad.  For  several  hours  we  traversed  a  stony,  sloping 
terrace  on  the  side  of  Taygetus,  1,500  feet  above  the  sea, 
*nd  crossed  by  great  yawning  gorges,  which  must  be 
doubled  with  much  labor.  The  people  said  :  "  The  road  is 
\  ery  good,  since  our  Bishop  has  had  it  mended.  Formerly 
it  was  bad."  What  is  a  bad  road  in  Maina  ?  Mix  togethel 
equal  portions  of  limestone  quarries,  unmade  pavements, 
huge  boulder-stones,  and  loose  beach  shingle,  and  you  will 
have  a  mild  idea  of  the  present  good  one.  There  were 


182  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

many  villages  scattered  along  the  terrace,  frequently  so 
close  to  each  other  as  almost  to  form  a  continuous  town. 
The  clear  water-veins  of  Taygetus  burst  to  light  in  spacioui 
stone  fountains,  over  which  arose  large  arches  of  masonry 
festooned  with  ivy.  There  were  also  a  great  multitude  01 
churches,  many  of  unmixed  Byzantine  style,  and  several 
centuries  old.  The  people — true  Greeks,  almost  to  a  man 
— accosted  us  with  the  most  cordial  and  friendly  air.  The 
universal  salutation  was  "  Kalos  orizete!"  (welcome),  in- 
stead of  the  '•'•Kali  emerasas!"  (good-day  to  you!)  which 
is  used  in  other  parts  of  Greece.  Although  many  of  the 
natives  were  poor  and  ragged,  we  saw  but  four  beggars  in 
all  Maina,  while  on  entering  Kalamata,  the  next  afternoon, 
we  encountered  twelve  in  succession. 

The  descent  to  the  sea-level  was  by  a  frightful  ladder, 
which  it  required  all  the  strength  and  skill  of  our  poor 
beasts  to  descend.  We  had  dismounted  long  before  this, 
as  riding  had  become  a  much  greater  labor  than  walking. 
Pericles,  one  of  our  agoyats,  exclaimed:  "I  was  never  in 
this  country  of  Mania  before.  If  I  should  happen  to  be 
fettered  and  brought  here  by  force,  I  might  see  it  again  • 
but  of  my  own  will,  never !  "  We  passed  many  traces  of 
ancient  quarries,  and  the  sites  of  the  Laconian  towns  of 
Thalamae  and  Leuctra,  but  a  few  hewn  blocks  are  all  thai 
remain.  After  twelve  hours  of  the  most  laborious  travel, 
Mid  long  after  night  had  set  in,  we  reached  the  little  town 
of  Skardamula.  A  shepherd  on  his  way  to  the  mountains 
turned  back  on  learning  that  we  were  strangers,  and  as- 
listed  us  to  find  lodgings.  But  this  was  not  difficult.  Al- 
most the  first  man  we  met  took  us  into  his  lofty  tower  of 


POUR   DAYS   AMONG  THE   SPARTANS.  193 

defence,  the  upper  room  of  which  was  vacated  for  us.  The 
people  were  curious,  but  kind,  and  I  found  my  liking  foi 
the  Mainotes  increasing  with  every  day.  Franyois,  how- 
ever, would  know  no  good  of  them,  and  the  Athenians 
opened  their  eyes  in  astonishment  when  they  heard  me 
praise  those  savage  mountaineers. 

We  had  a  lenten  supper  of  fish  and  vegetables,  and  slept 
securely  in  our  lofty  chamber.  In  the  morning  we  received 
a  visit  from  the  Demarch,  who  courteously  offered  us  re- 
freshments. The  people  who  assembled  to  see  us  off  were 
very  handsome — of  the  ancient  blood,  almost  without  ex- 
ception. On  crossing  the  river  beyond  the  village  I  was  so 
struck  with  the  magnificent  landscape  that  I  halted  an 
hour  to  sketch  it.  Before  us  lay  Skardamula,  its  tall 
towers  rising  above  the  mulberry  and  sycamore  trees  which 
lined  the  bank.  Hills  covered  with  fig  and  olive,  and 
crowned  with  the  dark  shafts  of  the  cypress,  rose  beyond, 
a  Mainote  fortress  on  every  commanding  point.  On  our 
left  issued  the  river  from  a  gigantic  gorge  between  preci- 
pices of  pale-red  rock :  a  line  of  bastion-like  hills  stood  in 
front  of  the  high  purple  peaks  around  which  scarfs  of 
morning  vapor  were  continually  twisting  and  unrolling 
themselves,  while,  through  the  gaps  between  them,  glim- 
mered like  fields  of  frosted  silver  the  snowy  cones  of  the 
Taygetus. 

Climbing  a  high  headland  of  the  coast  by  a  rocky  ladder, 
we  descended  on  the  other  side  into  a  lovely  valley,  in  the 
lap  of  which,  embowered  in  cypress  groves,  lay  the  village 
of  Malta.  Another  castle  was  placed  at  our  disposal,  for 
breakfast,  but  we  could  get  nothing  except  a  few  eggs 


184  TRAVELS   IX    GREECE    AND   RUSSIA. 

Franyois  was  especially  ill-humored  on  finding  that  nc 
wine  was  to  be  had.  "  I  suppose,"  said  he  to  the  people, 
"  your  priest  here  uses  brandy  when  he  celebrates  mass." 
Presently,  however,  we  had  a  visit  from  the  captain  of  the 
gend'armes,  who  politely  inquired  whether  he  could  assisl 
us  in  any  way.  "Not  unless  you  could  give  us  some 
wine,"  answered  Fran9ois,  rather  scornfully.  To  my 
surprise,  the  captain  instantly  despatched  a  villager  to  the 
priest,  who  soon  came,  accompanied  by  ajar  of  the  desired 
beverage.  The  captain  now  received  the  most  courteous 
replies  to  his  inquiries,  a  very  genial  conversation  followed, 
and  we  parted  from  the  company  in  the  most  friendly 
manner. 

The  journey  to  Kalamata  occupied  six  hours,  through 
scenery  as  rich  and  magnificent  as  that  of  Italian  Switzer- 
land. The  eye  ranged  from  orange  orchards  and  groves  of 
cypress  on  the  rocky  terraces  near  the  sea,  to  forests  of 
fir  on  the  higher  hills,  bristling  with  robber  towers,  while, 
far  above,  the  sharp  white  peaks  flashed  and  glittered  in 
the  blue.  While  descending  to  the  plain  at  the  head  of  the 
Gulf,  where  we  left  the  Mainote  territory,  I  met  Ariadne, 
carrying  a  load  of  wood  on  her  back.  Even  in  this  posi- 
tion, bent  under  her  burden,  she  exhibited  a  more  perfect 
beauty,  a  more  antique  grace,  than  any  woman  you  will 
see  in  Broadway  in  the  course  of  a  week.  If  such  be  thr 
Greek  race  now,  in  its  common  forms,  what  must  have 
been  those  refined  Athenian  women  whom  Phidias  saw? 
Since  I  beheld  Ariadne,  ancient  art  has  become  a  reality. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  Kalamata,  a  large, 
straggling,  busy  town,  with  a  dismantled  acropolis,  ant1 


FOUB    DAYS   AMONG   THE   SPARTANS.  18fi 

took  up  our  quarters  in  the  "  Grand  Hotel  of  Messenia." 
The  filthy  rooms  of  this  establishment  were  not  a  pleasant 
change  from  the  airy  towers  of  Maina.  All  the  afternoon, 
as  I  sat  at  the  window,  the  boys  tormented  an  idiot  in  the 
treet  below,  and  all  night  there  was  such  a  succession  01 
discordant  noises  through  the  house,  that  we  got  but  littlti 
Bleep. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

MESSENIA,     ELIS,     AND     ACHAIA. 

FHB  plain  of  Messenia,  over  which  we  rode,  after  leaving 
Kalaraata,  is  the  richest  part  of  the  Morea.  Although 
its  groves  of  orange  and  olive,  fig  and  mulberry,  were 
entirely  destroyed  during  the  Egyptian  occupation,  new 
and  more  vigorous  shoots  have  sprung  up  from  the 
old  stumps,  and  the  desolated  country  is  a  garden  again, 
apparently  as  fair  and  fruitful  as  when  it  excited  the 
covetousness  of  the  Spartan  thieves.  Sloping  to  the  Gulf 
on  the  south,  and  protected  from  the  winds  on  all  other 
sides  by  lofty  mountains,  it  enjoys  an  almost  Egyptian 
warmth  of  climate.  Here  it  was  already  summer,  while 
at  Sparta,  on  the  other  side  of  Taygetus,  spring  had  bu 
just  arrived,  and  the  central  plain  of  Arcadia  was  still 
bleak  and  gray  as  in  winter.  As  it  was  market  day,  we 
met  hundreds  of  the  country  people  going  to  Kalamata 
with  laden  asses.  Nine-tenths  of  them,  at  least,  had 
Turkish  faces.  The  Greek  type  suddenly  ceases  on  leaving 
Maina,  and  I  did  not  find  it  again,  except  in  a  few  scatter 


MESSEN1A,    ELI8,    AND   ACHAIA.  18? 

ing  instances,  during  the  remainder  of  our  travels  in  the 
Peloponnesus.  And  yet  some  travellers  declare  that  the 
bulk  of  the  population  of  Modern  Greece  belong  to  the 
ancient  stock  !  On  the  contrary,  I  should  consider  200,000, 
or  one-fifth  of  the  entire  number,  a  very  high  estimate. 

We  crossed  the  rapid  Pamisos  with  some  difficulty,  and 
ascended  its  right  bank,  to  the  foot  of  Mount  Evan,  which 
we  climbed,  by  rough  paths  through  thickets  of  mastic  and 
furze,  to  the  monastery  of  Vurkano.  The  building  has  a 
magnificent  situation,  on  a  terrace  between  Mounts  Evan 
and  Ithome,  overlooking  both  the  upper  and  lower  plains 
of  the  Pamisos — a  glorious  spread  of  landscape,  green  with 
spring,  and  touched  by  the  sun  with  the  airiest  prismatic 
tints  through  breaks  of  heavy  rain-clouds.  Inside  the 
court  is  an  old  Byzantine  chapel,  with  fleurs-de-lis  on  the 
decorations,  showing  that  it  dates  from  the  time  of  the 
Latin  princes.  The  monks  received  us  very  cordially,  gave 
us  a  clean,  spacious  room,  and  sent  us  a  bottle  of  excellent 
wine  for  dinner.  We  ascended  Ithome  and  visited  the 
massive  ruins  of  Messene  the  same  day.  The  great  gate 
of  the  city,  a  portion  of  the  wall,  and  four  of  the  towers 
of  defence,  are  in  tolerable  condition.  The  name  of 
Epaminondas  hallows  these  remains,  which  otherwise, 
grand  as  they  are,  do  not  impress  one  like  the  Cyclopean 
walls  of  Tiryns.  The  wonder  is,  that  they  could  have  been 
built  in  so  short  a  time — 85  days,  says  history,  which  would 
appear  incredible,  had  not  still  more  marvellous  things  of 
the  kind  been  done  in  Russia. 

The  next  day,  we  rode  across  the  head  of  the  Messenian 
plain,  crossed  the  "  Mount  Lycrcan  "  %nd  the  gorge  of  the 


188  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

Neda,  and  lodged  at  the  little  village  of  Tragoge,  on  tht 
frontiers  of  Arcadia.  Our  experience  of  Grecian  highways 
was  pleasantly  increased  by  finding  fields  plowed  directly 
across  our  road,  fences  of  dried  furze  built  over  it,  and 
ditches  cutting  it  at  all  angles.  Sometimes  all  trace  of  it 
would  be  lost  for  half  a  mile,  and  we  were  obliged  to  rido 
over  the  growing  crops  until  we  could  find  a  bit  of  fresh 
trail.  So  far  as  I  can  discover,  the  Government  neither 
makes  nor  guards  any  road  in  this  part  of  the  Morea. 
Two  or  three  times  a  year  a  new  track  must  be  made. 

The  bridle-path  over  Mount  Lyca3us  was  steep  and  bad, 
but  led  us  through  the  heart  of  a  beautiful  region.  The 
broad  back  of  the  mountain  is  covered  with  a  grove  of 
superb  oaks,  centuries  old,  their  long  arms  muffled  in 
golden  moss,  and  adorned  with  a  plumage  of  ferns.  The 
turf  at  their  feet  was  studded  with  violets,  filling  the  air 
with  delicious  odors.  This  sylvan  retreat  was  the  birth 
place  of  Pan,  and  no  more  fitting  home  for  the  universal 
god  can  be  imagined.  On  the  northern  side  we  descended 
for  some  time  through  a  forest  of  immense  ilex  trees,  which 
sprang  from  a  floor  of  green  moss  and  covered  our  path  way 
with  summer  shade.  Near  here,  Fran9ois  was  once  stop- 
ped by  robbers,  to  whom  he  gave  some  wine  and  tobacco 
in  exchange  for  a  sheep,  and  persuaded  them  to  spare  the 
baggage  of  two  travellers  whom  he  was  conducting.  We 
were  now  in  the  heart  of  the  wild  mountain  region  of 
Messenia,  in  whose  fastnesses  Aristomenes,  the  epic  hero 
of  the  State,  maintained  himself  so  long  against  the 
Spartans.  The  tremendous  gorge  below  us  was  the  bed  of 
the  Neda,  which  we  crossed  in  order  to  enter  the  latera1 


MESSEXIA,    ELIS,    AXD    ACHA1A.  189 

valley  of  Phigalia,  where  lay  Tragoge.  The  path  was  not 
only  difficult  but  dangerous — in  some  places  a  mere  hand's 
breadth  of  gravel,  on  the  edge  of  a  plane  so  steep  that  a 
single  slip  of  a  horse's  foot  would  have  sent  him  headlong 

o  the  bottom. 

We  intended  to  stop  with  the  priest,  from  whom  Fran9oid 
hoped  to  coax  some  of  his  sacramental  wine.  On  bailing 
a  peasant,  however,  on  approaching  the  village  we  learned 
that  the  good  man  had  been  dead  for  some  months. 
"  What  was  the  matter  with  him  ?  "  asked  F.  "  Nothing 
was  the  matter  with  him,"  answered  the  man,  "he  died.'; 
We  thereupon  went  to  the  father  of  the  deceased,  who 
received  us  kindly,  and  gave  us  a  windy  room,  with  a 
number  of  old  silver-mounted  yataghans  a-  d  muskets 
hanging  on  the  walls.  During  the  evening  a  neighbor 
came  in,  whose  brother  was  shot  as  a  bandit  a  few  years 
ago.  In  the  kitchen  there  was  a  segment  of  a  hollow 
sycamore  trunk,  used  as  a  grain  chest.  Thirty  or  forty  bee 
hives,  in  a  plot  of  ground  near  the  house,  were  in  like 
manner  composed  of  hollow  trees,  and  covered  with  broad 
flat  stones. 

In  the  morning,  a  terrible  scirocco  levante  was  blowing, 
with  an  almost  freezing  cold.  The  fury  of  the  wind  was 
«o  great  that  in  crossing  the  exposed  ridges  it  was  difficult 
to  keep  one's  seat  upon  the  horse.  We  climbed  towards 
the  central  peak  of  the  Lycaean  Hills,  through  a  wild  dell 
between  two  ridges,  which  were  covered  to  the  summit 
with  magnificent  groves  of  oak.  Starry  blue  flowers, 
violets  and  pink  crocuses  spangled  the  banks  as  we  wound 
onward,  between  the  great  trunks.  The  temple  of  Apollo 


190  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

Epi Darius  stands  on  a  little  platform  between  tlie  (wo 
highest  peaks,  about  3,500  feet  above  the  sea.  On 
the  morning  of  our  visit,  its  pillars  of  pale  bluish-gray 
limestone  rose  against  a  wintry  sky,  its  guardian  oaks  were 
leafless,  and  the  wind  whistled  over  its  heaps  of  ruin  ;  yet 
its  symmetry  was  like  that  of  a  perfect  statue,  wherein  you 
do  not  notice  the  absence  of  color,  and  I  felt  that  no  sky 
and  no  season  could  make  it  more  beautiful.  For  its 
builder  was  Ictinus,  who  created  the  Parthenon.  It  was 
erected  by  the  Phigalians,  out  of  gratitude  to  Apollo  the 
Helper,  who  kept  from  their  city  a  plague  which  ravaged 
the  rest  of  the  Peloponnesus.  Owing  to  its  secluded 
position,  it  has  escaped  the  fate  of  other  temples,  and 
might  be  restored  from  its  own  undestroyed  materials. 
The  cella  has  been  thrown  down,  but  thirty-five  out  ot 
thirty-eight  columns  are  still  standing.  Through  the  Dori< 
shafts  you  look  upon  a  wide  panorama  of  gray  mountains 
melting  into  purple  in  the  distance,  and  crowned  by  arcs  ol 
the  far-off  sea.  On  one  hand  is  Ithome  and  the  Messenian 
Gulf,  on  the  other  the  Ionian  Sea  and  the  Strophades. 

We  rode  for  nearly  two  hours  along  the  crest  of  the 
mountain,  looking  down  into  the  deep-blue  valley  of  the 
Alpheus,  and  then  descended  to  Andritzena,  which  lies  in 
a  wild  ravine,  sloping  towards  the  river.  This  is  a  poor 
place,  with  less  than  a  thousand  inhabitants.  We  passed 
the  night  at  a  small  village,  two  hours  beyond,  and  the 
next  day  pushed  on  down  the  valley  to  Olympia,  As  the 
streams  were  swollen  with  melted  snows,  we  had  some  dii 
ficulty  hi  finding  a  place  where  the  Alpheus  was  fordable. 
It  was  about  thirty  yards  wide,  with  a  very  swift  current 


MXSSENIA,    ELLS,    AND    ACHAIA.  191 

and  the  agoyats  were  in  mortal  fear  during  the  transit, 
although  the  water  did  not  reach  above  our  saddle-girths. 
Having  safely  reached  the  northern  bank,  we  now  had  the 
Ladon  and  the  Erymauthus  to  cross,  both  of  which  were 
much  swollen  Pericles  and  Ariwtides  crossed  themselves, 
after  these  streams  had  been  crossed,  and  really  had  the 
water  been  six  inches  deeper,  we  should  have  been  swept 
iway.  There  is  no  bridge  over  the  Alpheus,  and  commu- 
nication is  frequently  cut  off  during  the  winter. 

We  now  trotted  down  the  valley,  over  beautiful  mea- 
dows, "which  were  uncultivated  except  in  a  few  places  where 
the  peasants  were  plowing  for  maize,  and  had  destroyed 
every  trace  of  the  road.  The  hills  on  both  sides  began  to 
be  fringed  with  pine,  while  the  higher  ridges  on  our  right 
were  clothed  with  woods  of  oak.  I  was  surprised  at  the 
luxuriant  vegetation  of  this  region.  The  laurel  and  mastic 
became  trees,  the  pine  shot  to  a  height  of  oiie  hundred  feet, 
and  the  beech  and  sycamore  began  to  appeal .  Some  of  the 
pines  had  been  cut  for  ship-timber,  but  in  the  rudest  and 
most  wasteful  way,  only  the  limbs  which  had  the  proper 
curve  being  chosen  for  ribs.  I  did  not  see  a  single  saw- 
mill in  the  Peloponnesus  ;  but  I  am  told  that  there  are  a  few 
in  Euboea  and  Acarnania.  As  we  approached  Olympia,  1 
could  almost  have  believed  myself  among  the  pine-hills  of 
Germany  or  America.  In  the  old  times  this  must  have 
been  a  lovely,  secluded  region,  well  befitting  the  honored 
repose  of  Xenophon,  who  wrote  his  works  here.  The  sky 
became  heavier  as  the  day  w  >re  on,  and  the  rain,  which 
had  spared  us  so  long,  finally  inclosed  us  in  its  misty  circle, 
Towards  evening  we  reached  a  lonely  little  house,  on  the 


192  I-RAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   BUSSIA 

banks  of  the  Alpheus.  Nobody  was  at  home,  but  we  suc- 
ceeded in  forcing  a  door  and  getting  shelter  for  our  bag- 
gage. Fran9ois  had  supper  nearly  ready  before  the  pro- 
prietor arrived.  The  latter  had  neither  wife  nor  child, 
though  a  few  chicks,  and  took  our  burglarious  occupation 
very  good-humoredly.  We  shared  the  same  leaky  re  of 
with  our  horses,  and  the  abundant  fleas  with  the  owner' 
dogs. 

In  the  morning  the  clouds  broke  away,  and  broad  sun- 
shine streamed  down  on  the  Olympian  vale.  A  ride  of 
twenty  minutes  brought  us  to  the  remains  of  the  temple  of 
Jupiter — substructions  only,  which  have  been  discovered 
by  excavation,  as  they  are  entirely  beneath  the  level  of  the 
soil.  The  vast  fragments  enable  one  to  guess  at  the  size 
and  majesty  of  the  perfect  edifice.  The  drums  of  the  Doric 
columns,  only  two  or  three  of  which  remain  in  situ,  are 
nearly  eight  feet  in  diameter.  The  stone  employed  is  the 
same  hard,  coarse,  gray  limestone  as  that  of  the  temple  of 
Apollo  Epicurius.  The  soil  of  Olympia — a  deep  alluvial 
deposit — undoubtedly  contains  a  rich  fund  of  remains  of 
ancient  art ;  but  when  shall  they  be  brought  to  light  ? 
Prince  Ptlckler-Muskau  proposed  to  the  Greek  Government 
to  make  excavations  at  his  own  expense,  and  to  place  what- 
ever he  found  in  a  museum  which  he  would  build  on  the 
spot,  but  his  generous  offer  was  refused,  out  of  a  mean  jea- 
lousy of  permitting  a  foreigner  to  do  that  which  the  Greeks 
themselves  will  not  do  for  a  hundred  years  to  come.  The 
latter  boast  of  their  descent  from  the  old  heroes,  but  (old 
Pittakys  excepted)  they  are  greater  Vandals  than  the  Turks 
towards  the  ancient  monuments  of  their  country.  Foreign 


ELJ8,    AND   ACHAIA.  198 

influence  has  preserved  the  Acropolis  from  being  still  fur 
ther  despoiled :  foreign  scholars  have  discovered  the  lost 
landmarks  of  Greece;  and  foreign  money  is  now  paying  for 
the  few  excavations  and  restorations  which  are  being  car- 
ried on.  Athenian  boys  hurl  stones  from  their  slings  at  the 
choragic  monument  of  Lysicrates  and  mutilate  its  exquisite 
frieze,  and  the  sportsmen  who  pass  Colonos  pepper  with 
shot  and  bah1  the  marble  tombstone  over  Ottfried  Muller'a 
grave.  During  my  residence  in  Athens,  Sir  Thomas  Wyse 
prevented  the  builders  of  the  new  Cathedral  from  plunder- 
ing the  Theatre  of  Bacchus,  and  it  is  fear  of  the  opinion  of 
the  world,  rather  than  reverence  for  the  Past,  which  saves 
many  a  venerable  relic  from  the  like  fate. 

The  hills  surrounding  Olympia  are  low,  and  picturesquely 
wooded  with  pine.  The  scenery  has  a  pleasing  air  of  seclu- 
sion and  peace.  Broken  stones  and  bricks  mark  the  posi- 
tion of  the  city,  which  stood  on  a  shelf  of  the  valley  next 
the  hills,  out  of  the  reach  of  inundations  from  the  river. 
The  temple  stood  very  nearly  in  the  centre,  opposite  an  arm 
of  the  valley  which  enters  the  hills  to  the  north,  at  right 
angles  to  the  course  of  the  Alpheus.  Here  was  the 
stadium,  no  trace  of  which  now  remains.  At  one  end  is  a 
small  Roman  ruin  of  brickwork,  resembling  a  bath.  We 
here  found  a  wild  olive-tree,  from  which  we  robbed  enough 
of  leaves  to  make  a  victor's  crown.  The  vale  is  nearly 
deserted,  and  most  of  its  mellow  loam  is  lying  fallow.  And 
this  is  Olympia,  whence,  for  nearly  1,200  years,  the  chrono- 
logy of  the  ancient  world  was  computed — which  has  wit- 
nessed the  presence  of  a  greater  number  of  great  men  than 
any  other  spot  in  the  world ! 


194  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA, 

A  journey  of  two  days  across  the  wild  mountain  country 
of  Erymanthus  took  us  to  Kalavryta,  in  Achaia.  We  left 
the  valley  of  the  Alpheus  at  Olympia,  and  struck  into  a 
hilly  district,  covered  with  forests  of  splendid  pine.  A 
number  of  lumbermen  were  at  work,  wasting  more  than 
half  the  wood  for  the  want  of  saws.  After  a  gradual 
ascent  of  about  a  thousand  feet,  we  reached  a  summit 
ridge,  but  instead  of  finding  a  corresponding  descent  on 
the  other  side,  we  saw  a  broad  table-laud  stretching  away 
to  the  foot  of  a  second  ridge  of  hills.  On  this  fine  plain 
was  the  little  village  of  Lala,  built  on  the  site  of  one 
destroyed  during  the  war.  The  place  was  very  rich,  but 
now,  although  about  one-tenth  of  the  number  of  the  former 
inhabitants  own  the  same  region,  they  are  miserably  poor. 
The  fields  for  miles  around,  once  bounteous  with  corn  and 
wine,  are  lying  waste  and  covered  only  with  a  thick  carpet 
of  ferns  and  asphodel.  Ascending  the  second  range  of 
hills,  we  came  upon  another  table-land,  covered  with  an 
Immense  forest  of  oaks.  We  rode  for  more  than  two 
hours  through  this  forest,  which  extends  to  the  foot  of  the 
high  range  of  Erymanthus,  a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles, 
and  even  spreads  up  the  mountain  sides  as  far  as  the  region 
of  snow.  Most  of  the  trees  are  less  than  fifty  years  old, 
but  interspersed  among  them  are  noble  old  trunks  of  many 
centuries.  The  open  spaces  were  carpeted  with  soft,  green 
turf,  and  every  sunny  bank  gave  a  breath  of  violets  to  the 
air.  The  ground  was  covered  with  limbs  and  trunks, 
slowly  rotting  away.  I  saw  enough  of  waste  wood  during 
the  ride  to  supply  all  Athens  for  five  years,  but  there  it 
will  lie  and  rot,  so  long  as  there  are  no  roads  in  Greece 


MESSEXIA,    ELIS,    AND    ACHA  IA.  19£ 

It  is  saddening  to  see  a  country  so  rich  in  natural  resources 
neglected  so  shamefully. 

Leaving  the  forest  at  last,  we  entered  the  deep,  abrupt 
gorge  of  the  Erymanthus,  and  spent  the  night  in  a  lonely 
khan  in  the  \\oods,  high  on  the  mountain  side.  It  was  a 
long  day's  journey  thence  to  Kalavryta,  over  the  back-bom 
of  Erymanthus.  This  is  the  main  line  of  communication 
between  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  and  the  south-western  portion 
of  the  Peloponnesus.  The  King  and  all  his  ministers  have 
travelled  it,  the  people  have  sent,  literally,  hundreds  of 
petitions  in  regard  to  it,  yet  not  a  solitary  drachma,  so  far  as 
I  could  learn,  has  ever  been  expended  on  it.  Near  the 
khan  there  is  a  wild  mountain  stream,  which  frequently 
cuts  off  communication  for  days.  A  good  bridge  over  it 
could  be  built  for  10,000  drachmas;  the  poor  people  of  the 
neighborhood  have  raised  among  themselves  nearly  half 
the  amount,  yet  all  their  clamor  and  entreaty  cannot  pro- 
cure the  remainder. 

Our  khanji  was  evidently  of  Turkish  blood;  the  Greek 
face  is  very  rare  in  these  parts.  We  had  an  exceedingly 
rough  ride  of  three  hours,  up  the  gorge  of  the  Eryman- 
thus to  Tripotamo.  The  mountains  rose  on  either  side  tc 
a  height  of  300  feet  above  the  stream,  which  thundered 
down  a  precipitous  defile.  Tripotamo  is  a  khan,  lying,  as 
Its  name  denotes,  at  the  junction  of  the  three  branches  of 
Erymanthus.  A  few  foundation  walls  still  remain  from  the 
ancient  city  of  Peophis,  which  stood  on  a  rocky  height, 
commanding  the  valley. 

We  now  followed  the  middle  branch  of  the  Erymanthus 
up  a  warm,  narrow  valley,  planted  with  tobacco  and  vines, 


J96  TRAVELS    IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

The  banks  were  purple  with  the  dark-hued  violet,  and  the 
air  balmy  as  the  breath  of  Paradise.  At  the  end  of  the 
"alley  we  mounted  the  central  ridge  of  the  Erymanthean 
chain — a  sharp  comb,  which  appears  to  connect  the  group 
of  Panachaiacum  with  that  of  Cyllene.  From  the  summit 
we  had  a  glorious  view  backwards,  down  the  gorge  of  the 
Erymanthus,  between  the  blue  foldings  of  whose  mountaina 
we  saw  the  level  line  of  the  wooded  table-land  overlooking 
the  Olympian  plain.  Before  us  stretched  a  similar  valley, 
closed  on  the  north  by  another  mountain  range,  while  the 
hoary  summit  of  Cyllene  sparkled  near  us  on  the  right, 
through  the  crystal  ether.  Of  the  four  monasteries  which 
we  passed,  between  Tripotamo  and  Kalavryta,  but  one  was 
inhabited.  The  others,  so  Fra^ois  said,  had  been  seques- 
trated by  the  Government. 

Kalavryta  is  situated  at  the  eastern  end  of  a  high  moun- 
tain basin,  which  discharges  its  waters  into  the  katabethra 
(canon)  where  lies  the  monastery  of  Megaspelion.  Over 
it  towers  the  snowy  head  of  Cyllene,  in  which  are  the  foun- 
tains of  the  Styx.  It  is  a  busy,  picturesque  little  place, 
with  better  houses  than  one  usually  finds  in  the  country 
towns.  There  was  no  khan,  but  the  Chief  of  Police  directed 
us  to  a  house  where  we  obtained  quarters.  As  it  had  a 
second  story,  chimney,  and  small  glass  windows,  we  con- 
sidered ourselves  luxuriously  lodged.  The  next  day  we 
went  no  further  than  Megaspelion,  two  hours  distant.  Our 
youngest  agoyat,  Pericles,  ^-as  quite  ill,  from  the  effect  of 
Lent.  He  had  eaten  nothing  but  bread,  olives,  and  raw 
onions  during  the  whole  trip.  A  single  good  meal  would 
have  cured  him,  but  1  believe  he  would  sooner  have  died 


MESSENIA,    KLIS,    AND   ACHAIA.  19 * 

than  have  eaten  meat  before  Easter.  Our  host  refused  tc 
drink  wine,  because  he  had  once  brought  a  load  of  fish  from 
Lala  to  Kalavryta  in  one  day,  and  is  certain  he  would  nevei 
have  accomplished  it,  if  he  had  not  strictly  observed  his 
fasts  at  the  propei  time.  What  has  Christianity  become ! 
Is  it,  as  practised  by  one-half  of  Chiistendom,  much  bettei 
than  the  ancient  Paganism? 

Entering  the  gorge  of  Megaspelion,  we  had  a  succession 
of  grand  mountain  pictures,  the  naked  rocks  rising  high 
overhead,  almost  to  the  very  clouds,  while  there  was  barely 
space  between  their  bases  for  the  Kalavryta  River.  We 
saw  the  monastery,  far  up  on  the  mountain  side,  stuck 
against  the  face  of  tremendous  cliffs  of  dark-red  rock.  A 
long  and  steep  ascent  leads  into  the  amphitheatric  hollow 
which  it  overlooks,  the  buildings  being  hidden  from  view 
by  a  projecting  spur  until  you  are  close  upon  them.  It  is 
certainly  one  of  the  wildest  and  most  singular  places  in  the 
world.  The  precipice,  which  is  nearly  five  hundred  feet 
perpendicular,  is  hollowed  out  at  the  bottom  into  three 
crescent-shaped  caverns,  penetrating  ninety  feet  into  the 
rock.  In  front  of  these,  a  massive  wall,  sixty  feet  high, 
has  been  built  up,  and  on  the  summit  of  the  wall,  and  the 
rocky  floor  of  the  topmost  cavern,  are  perched  the  chapela 
and  dormitories  of  the  monks — for  all  the  Avorld  like  a  lot 
of  swallows'  nests,  of  all  forms,  colors,  and  dimensions.  The 
mountain  slope  below  the  monastery  is  terraced  and  de- 
moted to  gardens,  of  which  every  monk  has  a  separate  one, 
and  there  are  nearly  three  hundred  when  they  are 
all  at  home.  The  staircases  and  passages  in  the  interior 
of  this  hive  are  mostly  hewn  in  the  solid  rock,  and  so 


198  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

dark  and  labyrinthine  that  you  must  have  candles  and  a 
fijuide. 

The  monks — to  whose  piety  I  will  testify,  since  I  saw  how 
dirty  they  were — received  us  rather  coldly,  but  did  not 
refuse  us  a  room,  nor  prevent  Fran9ois  from  cooking  a  bit 
of  mutton.  They  hurried  us  off  to  the  church,  supposing 
that  we  must  be  impatient  to  behold  the  portrait  of  the 
Holy  Virgin,  sculptured  hi  vary  black  wood,  by  St.  Luke 
himself.  If  the  portrait  be  correct,  she  was  a  very  ordinary 
person.  I  prefer,  however,  to  throw  the  blame  on  St.  LUKC, 
whose  pictures  are  quite  as  hideous  as  this  bas-relief.  The 
rooms  of  the  monks  were  in  harmony  with  their  persons. 
All  the  offal  of  the  monastery  is  thrown  out  of  the  windows, 
and  lies  in  heaps  at  the  foot  of  the  wall,  whence  its  effluvia 
rise  to  mingle  with  the  incense  in  the  chapels  above.  Tlit 
most  spacious  part  of  the  building  was  the  wine-cellar, 
which  was  well  stored.  There  was  no  temptation  to  stay 
and  witness  the  Easter  festivities — indeed,  we  were  too 
anxious  to  reach  Athens.  Two  Englishmen,  however,  who 
had  arrived  before  us,  were  spending  every  night  in  the 
church  and  sleeping  in  the  day-time.  The  monotony  of  the 
nasal  chanting  is  something  terrible,  and  how  they  endured 
it  six  hours  a  night  was  beyond  my  comprehension. 

So  we  left  Megaspelion  on  megalo  sabaton  (Great  Satur 
day),  in  the  beginning  of  a  rain.  Our  path  climbed  the 
mountain  behind  the  monastery,  and  followed  the  crest  of 
a  long  ridge  running  towards  the  Gulf  of  Corinth.  Clouds 
were  above  and  below  us,  and  a  wild,  black  abyss  of  storm 
hid  both  Cyllene  and  tin*  milf.  These  mountains  were 
thickly  clothed  with  h'rs,  the  first  we  had  seen  in  Greece 


MESSENIA,    ELIS,    AND    ACHAJA.  19£ 

The  most  of  them  were  young,  but  here  and  there  rose  a 
few  fine,  tall  trunks,  which  both  War  and  Peace  had  spared, 
The  appearance  of  this  region  showed  conclusively  how 
easy  it  would  be  to  restore  the  lost  forests  of  Greece — and 
through  them  the  lost  streams.  After  four  or  five  hours 
up  and  down  paths  so  difficult  that  they  would  have  been 
very  dangerous  with  horses  unaccustomed  to  such  travel, 
we  reached  the  hamlet  of  Akrata  on  the  coast,  wet,  sore, 
and  hungry. 

A  crowd  of  village  idlers  collected  about  the  little  shop 
where  we  stopped  to  breakfast,  and  thronged  in  to  see  us 
eat  and  to  ask  questions.  They  had  sharp,  eager,  intelli- 
gent faces,  but  all  with  a  greater  or  less  mixture  of  the 
Slavonic  element.  Among  them  was  a  handsome  boy  of 
sixteen,  who,  having  studied  at  the  gymnasium  of  Patras, 
was  put  forward  as  spokesman.  We  were  the  first  Ameri- 
cans they  had  seen,  and  they  were  curious  to  learn  some 
thing  about  America.  I  pointed  out  one  of  the  boys 
present  as  having  a  genuine  American  face,  whereupon  the 
smart  youngster  remarked,  "  That  is  almost  like  an  insult 
— it  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  he  don't  look  like  a  Greek.*' 
"  You  should,  on  the  contrary,  take  it  as  a  compliment  to 
your  country,"  I  answered  ;  "  the  people  of  a  free  country 
have  a  different  erpression  from  those  who  live  under  a 
despotism,  and  if  he  resembles  an  American,  he  resembles 
a  free  man."  He  was  a  little  abashed  ;  and  one  of  the  men 
asked :  "  But  if  it  is  a  free  country,  what  despot  (tyrannos) 
rules  you  ?  '  I  thereupon,  with  the  help  of  Fran9ois,  gave 
them  a  brief  description  of  our  Government  and  country, 
to  which  they  listened  with  the  greatest  attention,  asking 


200  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE    AM)    KUSS1A. 

questions   which   showed  a  clear  comprehension   of  my 

explanations.  I  am  sure  that  a  group  of  German  or  French 
peasants  would  not  have  understood  Mie  subject  half  as 
readily. 

By  this  time  the  rain  had  not  only  ceased,  but  the  cloud* 
parted,  allowing  splendid  gaps  of  sunshine  to  stream  down 
on  the  dark-green  gulf,  and  light  up  the  .snowy  top  of 
Parnassus,  nearly  opposite.  Before  sunset  we  reached  the 
village  of  Stomi,  where  we  spent  the  night  very  comfort- 
ably in  a  two-story  house.  The  next  day  was  Easter  Sun- 
day, which  we  had  promised  to  spend  with  our  friend,  the 
Demarch  of  Hexamilia.  The  storm  had  delayed  us  con- 
siderably, but  we  still  hoped,  by  starting  early,  to  arrive  in 
season  for  the  Paschal  lamb.  The  way,  however,  was 
longer  than  we  had  counted  upon.  Following  the  shore 
of  the  gulf,  we  witnessed  the  Easter  festivities  in  twenty 
villages,  saluted  by  everybody  with  the  glad  tidings  . 
"  Ghristos  crneste"  (Christ  is  arisen,) — to  which  we  gave 
the  customary  reply  :  "  Alethos  aneste"  (Truly  lie  is  arisen.) 
All  were  dressed  in  their  gayest  garments,  and  the  satisfac- 
tion which  a  hearty  meal  of  meat — the  first  in  fifty  days-- 
spread  over  their  countenances,  was  most  refreshing  to 
oehold.  There  was  a  continual  discharge  of  musketry 
from  the  young  paiikars  ;  and,  in  the  afternoon,  the  women 
danced  slowly  on  the  shore,  in  long  semicircular  companies 
to  the  sound  of  their  own  screechy  voices.  The  short 
mantles  which  they  wore,  over  their  white  petticoats,  wen 
of  the  gayest  colors,  bordered  with  an  ornamental  pattern 
;>f  truly  antique  and  classical  form.  One  of  them  was  ao 
exact  copy  of  that  worn  l»y  llistori,  as  Medea. 


MESSENIA,   ELIS,    AND    A.CHAIA.  201 

Sending  our  baggage  direct  to  Hexamilia,  and  intrusting 
Ptxicles  with  a  message  to  the  Demarch,  that  a  Paschal 
lamb  she  old  be  bought  and  roasted  for  us,  we  left  the  shore, 
and  mounted  to  the  rocky  platform  whereon  stood  Sikyon, 
the  forerunner  and  rival  of  Corinth.  We  spent  a  quiet 
hour  in  the  grass-grown  theatre,  looking  on  the  sapphire 
gulf,  and  the  immortal  peaks  of  song  beyond  it.  It  was 
nearly  sunset  when  we  reached  Corinth,  but  I  determined 
to  improve  the  occasion  by  climbing  to  the  acropolis,  which 
we  had  been  unable  to  do  on  our  former  visit,  on  account 
of  the  rain.  From  the  huge  rock,  nearly  two  thousand 
feet  in  height,  you  have  a  panorama  extending  from  Sunium, 
the  eastern  headland  of  Attica,  on  one  side,  to  the  moun 
tainb  of  Etolia,  on  the  other. 

It  was  after  dark  when  our  weary  horses  halted  at  the 
Demarch's  door,  in  Hexamilia.  The  lamb  was  on  a  spit, 
truly  enough,  and  Pericles  and  Aristides  were  turning  him 
with  expectant  eyes.  The  Demarch  opened  an  amphora  of 
red,  resinous  wine  (which,  having  once  learned  to  drink, 
we  preferred  to  all  other),  and  late  at  night,  by  the  light 
of  lanterns,  we  sat  down  to  our  Easter  feast.  The  house 
\vas  still  shaken  by  the  throes  of  the  lingering  earthquake, 
but  none  of  us  heeded  them.  The  Demarch,  whose  red 
face  and  starting  eyes  already  told  of  repletion,  tore  a  rib 
from  the  lamb  with  the  remark :  "  I  have  already  eaten 
three  times  to-day,  but  on  Easter  one  can  hold  a  double 
portion."  It  is  a  fact  that  there  are  more  cases  of  illness 
after  this  festival,  that  at  any  time  in  the  year.  We  were 
ill  ravenously  hungry,  and  the  Demarch  was  finally  left 
behind  in  the  race.  Pericles  and  Aristides  devoured  an 


202  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA 

entire  quarter,  besides  an   immense  omelette,  wdth  silent 
rapture. 

Returning  by  way  of  Megara  and  Eleusis,  in  two  days 
more,  we  hailed  again  the  beloved  Acropolis  from  the  brow 
of  Daphne. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

BYRON    IN     GREECE. 

No  poet  of  modern  times — not  even  Scott  among  the  lochi 
of  the  Highlands — has  left  so  lasting  an  impress  of  his  own 
mind  on  the  scenes  he  saw  and  sang  of,  as  Byron.  Whe- 
ther on  the  Rhine,  in  Switzerland,  Venice,  Rome,  Albania, 
Greece,  Stamboul,  or  Gibraltar,  the  first  lines  that  bubble 
up  from  the  bottom  of  Memory's  pool,  as  some  feature  or 
expression  of  the  landscape  agitates  it,  are  sure  to  be  his. 
Epithets  struck  off  like  the  lucky  dash  of  an  artist's  pencil, 
cling  so  tenaciously  to  the  scenes  themselves,  that  moun- 
tain, cape,  cataract,  and  temple  hurl  them  back  to  you. 
"  The  Acroceraunean  mountains  of  old  name,"  "  Leucadia's 
far-projecting  rock  of  woe,"  Soracte  heaving  from  the  plain 
"like  a  long-swept  wave  about  to  break,"  Lake  Nemi 
"  navelled  in  the  woody  hills,"  the  "  exulting  and  abound- 
ing "  Rhine — are  all  illustrations  of  this.  It  is  not,  as  some- 
body observes,  that  1>\  ron  expresses  the  average  sentiment 
of  cultivated  travellers,  but  rather  tVom  the  intrinsic  excel- 
lence and  aptness  of  his  descriptive  epithets,  that  he  is  so 


204  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

constantly  quoted.  Nothing  can  be  finer  than  the  images 
— rarely  more  than  a  line  hi  length — with  which  Childe 
Harold  is  crowded.  The  disciples  of  Wordsworth  have 
attempted  to  depreciate  Byron  as  a  poet,  as  Pollok  and 
other  Pharisees  have  blackened  his  character  as  a  man — but 
no  one  can  visit  Greece  without  recognising  how  wonder- 
fully the  forms  and  colors  of  her  scenery,  the  solemn  sadness 
of  her  ruin,  are  reproduced  in  his  pages. 

It  is  a  severe  test  of  a  description  to  read  it  on  the  actual 
spot.  The  twilight  medium  of  words  pales  hi  the  broad 
blaze  of  Nature ;  and  as  mountain,  city,  and  river  flush  into 
living  color  before  your  eye,  the  life-blood  seems  to  be 
drained  from  the  page  hi  your  hand.  Only  when  you  be- 
come familiarized  with  a  landscape,  can  you  venture  to 
open  a  book  in  its  presence.  Classical  travellers,  it  is  true, 
carry  their  Homers  with  them  to  read  on  the  mound  of 
Troy — or  their  Sophocles,  for  the  Gate  of  Mycena ;  but 
this  is  a  bit  of  agreeable  sentiment  which  we  must  pardon 
In  Chamounix,  before  sunrise,  you  would  scarcely  think  of 
reading  Coleridge's  "Hymn;"  Schiller's  "Diver"  would 
sound  but  tamely  in  the  Calabrian  Strait ;  and  I  should  like 
to  see  the  man  who  could  repeat  any  of  the  many  feeble 
addresses  to  Niagara,  on  Table  Rock ! 

Why  is  it,  then,  that  so  many  of  Byron's  descriptions 
when  you  have  once  read  them,  are  given  back  to  you 
again  by  Nature  herself?  Because  he  wrote  in  the  pre- 
sence of  Nature :  impression  and  expression  were  simulta- 
neous; and  his  pictures,  like  the  open-air  studies  of  a 
painter,  however  deficient  in  breadth,  depth,  or  atmosphere, 
have  the  unmistakable  stamp  of  truth.  Scarcely  any  othei 


BYRON   HJ    GREECE.  20ft 

poet  painted  so  directly  from  the  model.  His  thundei 
storm  on  Lake  Leman,  written,  as  one  might  say,  by  the 
flashes  of  lightning,  reminds  us  of  Turner  lashed  to  the 
foremast  of  a  steamer,  in  order  to  study  a  snow-squall  at 
sea.  The  first  and  second  books  of  Childe  Harold  were 
written  almost  entirely  in  the  open  air.  In  wandering 
about  Athens,  on  a  sunny  March  day,  when  the  asphodel* 
are  blossoming  on  Colonos,  when  the  immortal  mountains 
are  folded  in  a  transparent  purple  haze,  and  the  waveless 
^Egean  slumbers  afar,  among  his  islands,  I  never  failed  to 
hear  a  voice  steal  upon  the  charmed  silence — a  young, 
manly  voice,  ringing  with  inspiration,  yet  subdued  by  the 
landscape  to  a  harmony  with  its  own  exquisite  rhythmua, 
chanting : 

"  Yet  are  thy  skies  as  blue,  thy  crags  as  wild, 

Sweet  are  thy  groves,  and  verdant  are  thy  fields. 
Thine  olive  ripe  as  when  Minerva  smiled, 

And  still  his  honeyed  wealth  Hymettus  yields ; 

There  the  blithe  bee  his  fragrant  fortress  builds, 
The  free-born  wanderer  of  thy  mountain  air; 

Apollo  still  thy  long,  long  summer  gilds, 
Still  in  his  beam  Meudeli's*  marbles  glare: 
Art,  Glory,  Freedom  fail,  but  Nature  still  is  fair." 

Here  the  simple  thought  is  neither  new  nor  profound 
but  when  the  blue  sky  of  Greece  is  over  your  head ;  when 
the  thick  olive  groves  shimmer  silverly  before  you  down 
the  valley  of  the  Cephissus ;  when  the  bee  rises  from  hia 
bed  in  the  bells  of  the  asphodel,  and  the  flavor  of  the  thymy 

*  Pentelicus. 


206  TBAVELS    IN    GKEECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

honey  of  Hymettus  is  still  on  your  palate  ;  when  the  marble 
quarries  of  Pentelicus  gleani  like  scars  on  the  Hue  pediment 
of  the  mountain — then  these  lines  sing  themselves  into  youi 
brain  as  the  natural  voice  of  the  landscape. 

Although  fifty  years  have  elapsed  since  Byron  first  visited 
Greece,  his  connexion  with  the  later  struggle  for  indepen- 
dence has  kept  alive  some  memories  even  of  that  earliei 
period.  No  foreign  name  is  so  well  known  to  the  Greeks 
AS  that  of  Veerdri  (as  they  pronounce  it) ;  his  portrait 
always  has  a  prominent  place  in  the  Pantheon  of  the  Libe- 
rators. Mrs.  Black,  to  whom  he  sang  "  Zoe  mou,  sas 
agapo?  still  lives  at  the  Piraeus,  and  has  transmitted  her 
charms  to  a  lovely  Greco-Scottish  daughter;  and  Mavro- 
cordato,  his  friend  and  ally,  though  blind  and  octogenary, 
was  living  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  I  knew  the  physician 
who  attended  him  at  Missolonglii — the  same  in  whose  anus 
Ottfried  Muller  breathed  his  last.  Mr.  Fiulay,  the  historian 
of  Mediaeval  Greece,  knew  him  both  at  Cephalonia  and  at 
Missolonglii,  and  related  to  me  the  circumstances  under 
which  he  contracted  his  fatal  illness.  Some  of  the  particu- 
lars were  new  to  me ;  and  as  Mr.  Finlay  informed  me  that 
portions  of  his  statement  had  already  been  published,  I  feel 
no  hesitation  in  repeating  them  here. 

It  is  well  known  that  after  Byron  reached  Missolonghi, 
he  was  greatly  annoyed  and  perplexed  by  the  turbulent 
horde  of  half-robbers  among  whom  he  was  thrown — a  set 
of  jealous,  clamorous,  undisciplined  rogues,  who  were  less 
zealous  in  the  cause  of  Grecian  freedom  than  in  their  endea- 
vors to  get  a  share  of  the  poet's  money.  Ambitious  to 
achieve  some  military  distinction,  and  at  the  same  time 


BYKOK     IX     GRRECE.  207 

accomplish  something  for  Greece,  he  enrolled  a  company 
of  Suliotes  under  lii>  own  immediate  command,  and  com- 
menced a  strict  course  of  discipline.  [Byron's  helmet, 
\vitli  his  cn-st.  and  the  motto  "  Crcdr  Hh-on,"  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe,  of  Boston,  who  received 
it  from  Count  (iainlin.  It  is  so  small  that  few  men  could 
be  found  who.-*-  heads  could  be  put  into  it.]  He  was  very 
punctual  in  his  attendance  at  the  drill,  and  disregarded  a 
proper  protection  from  the  weather,  fearing  that  an  appear- 
ance of  effeminacy  would  weaken  his  influence  over  his  men. 
Mr.  Finlay,  then  a  young  and  ardent  Philhellene,  was 
sent  with  dispatches  from  Athens  to  Missolonghi,  about  the 
close  of  March,  1824.  After  remaining  a  few  days  he  pre- 
pared to  return;  but  heavy  rains  had  swollen  the  river 
Achelous,  and  he  was  obliged  to  delay  his  departure.  His 
plan  was,  to  cross  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  in  a  small  boat,  so 
as  to  avoid  the  risk  of  being  captured  by  the  Turks  at 
Lepanto,  and  then  push  on  eastward,  through  the  denies  of 
the  Achaian  Mountains.  One  morning,  at  last,  the  weather 
seemed  better,  and  he  set  out.  Riding  eastward  over  the 
plain,  towards  the  Achelous,  he  met  Byron  on  horseback. 
The  latter  turned  and  rode  along  with  him  for  two  or  three 
miles,  conversing  on  the  prospects  of  the  cause.  Finally, 
Byron  said :  "  You'd  better  turn  back ;  the  river  is  still  too 
high."  "  I  think  not,"  said  Mr  Finlay  ;  "  but,  at  least,  I'll 
try  it."  "  You'll  be  wet  to  the  skin,  at  any  rate,"  urged 
Byron,  pointing  to  a  heavy  black  cloud,  which  was  rapidlj 
approaching.  "  You  will  be  wet,  not  I,"  Mr.  Finlay  an 
swered,  whereupon  Byron  saying :  "  I'll  see  to  that,' 
turned  his  horse  and  galloped  hack  towards  the  town. 


208  TRAVELS   TN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

In  a  few  minutes,  however,  the  clond  broke,  and  the  rain 
fell  in  torrents.  Byron's  house  was  at  the  western  end  of 
Missolonghi,  so  that,  in  order  to  avoid  the  breakneck 
streets,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  crossing  the  harbor  in  a 
boat,  and  mounting  his  horse  outside  the  eastern  wall.  On 
this  occasion,  he  reached  the  boat  in  a  dripping  state,  and, 
being  obliged  to  sit  still  during  the  passage,  received  u 
violent  chill,  which  was  followed  by  an  attack  of  fever 
Mr.  Finlay,  finding  the  river  still  too  high,  returned  to  Mis 
solonghi,  where  he  was  obliged  to  wait  two  days  longer. 
Byron  then  lay  upon  the  bed  from  which  he  never  arose. 
"  One  evening,"  related  Mr.  F.,  "  he  said  to  Col.  Stanhope 
and  the  rest  of  us  :  '  Well,  I  expected  something  to  happen 
this  year.  It's  all  owing  to  the  old  witch.'  We  asked  for 
an  explanation.  *  When  I  was  a  boy,'  said  he,  '  an  old 
woman,  who  told  my  fortune,  predicted  that  four  particulai 
years  would  be  dangerous  to  me.  Three  times  her  predic 
tion  has  come  true ;  and  now  this  is  the  fourth  year  she 
named.  So  you  see,  it  won't  do  to  laugh  at  the  witches. 
He  said  this  in  a  gay,  jesting  voice,  and  seemed  to  have  no 
idea  that  his  illness  would  prove  fatal.  Indeed,  none  of  us 
considered  him  in  a  dangerous  condition  at  that  time." 

During  his  first  visit  to  Greece,  Byron  resided  for  several 
months  at  Athens,  and  every  fair  or  inspiring  feature  of  the 
illustrious  region  was  familiar  to  him.  Two  points  seem  to 
have  especially  attracted  him — the  ancient  fortress  of 
Phyle,  in  the  defile  of  Parnes,  through  which  passed  one 
of  the  roads  into  Boeotia,  and  the  sunset  view  from  the  Pro 
pylsea,  or  pillared  entrance  at  the  western  end  of  the  Acro- 
polis. The  latter  is  frequently  called  "Byron's  View,"  bj 


BYKON   IN   GBEECE.  20S 

the  English,  and  no  poet's  name  was  ever  associated  with 
a  lovelier  landscape.  Seated  on  a  block  of  marble  op 
posite  the  main  entrance,  which  steeply  climbs  the  slope, 
you  look  down  between  the  rows  of  fluted  Doric  columns, 
to  the  Hill  of  the  Nymphs,  rising  opposite,  across  the  vnl 
ley  of  the  Cepliissus,  twinkling  with  olives  and  vines,  over 
the  barren  ridge  of  Corydallus,  the  mountains  of  Salamis 
and  Megara,  and  away  to  the  phantom  hills  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesus, whose  bases  are  cut  by  the  azure  arc  of  the  Saronic 
Gulf.  Here  was  written  the  often  quoted  description  of  a 
Grecian  sunset,  commencing : 

"  Slow  sinks,  more  lovely  ere  his  race  be  run, 
Along  Morea's  hills  the  setting  sun — " 

and  every  feature  of  the  picture  is  correct.  In  the  south, 
you  see  Egina,  crowned  by  the  Panhellenic  temple  of  Jupi- 
ter, Hydra,  and  Poros;  while  the  "Delphian  cliff"  on  the 
west,  behind  which  the  still  triumphant  god  sinks  to  rest, 
though  hidden  from  sight  by  a  spur  of  Parnes,  is  neverthe- 
less visible  from  the  sides  of  Hymettus. 

To  me,  this  view  had  an  indescribable  charm.  Apart 
from  the  magic  of  its  immortal  associations,  it  is  drawn  and 
colored  with  that  exquisite  artistic  feeling,  which  seems  to 
be  a  characteristic  of  Nature  in  Greece,  and  therefore  takes 
away  from  the  almost  despairing  wonder  with  which  we 
should  otherwise  contemplate  her  perfect  temples.  We 
the  more  easily  comprehend  why  Proportion  should  have 
been  an  inborn  faculty  of  the  Grecian  mind — why  the  laws 
of  Form,  with  all  their  elusive  secrets,  should  have  been  so 
thoroughly  mastered.  The  studied  irregularity  of  the 


210  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

Parthenon,  the  result  of  which  is  absolute  symmetry,  wai 
never  attained  by  mathematical  calculation.  It  sprang 
from  the  inspired  sagacity  of  a  brain  so  exquisitely  educated 
to  Order,  that  it  could  give  birth  to  no  imperfect  concep- 
tion. Ictinus  caught  the  magic  secret  (which  all  Apostles 
of  the  Good  Time  Coming  would  do  well  to  learn),  that 
Nature  abhors  exact  mathematical  arrangement — that  true 
Order  and  Harmony  lie  in  a  departure  from  it.  By  violat- 
ing the  apparent  law,  the  genuine  law  was  found. 

A  few  days  before  leaving  Athens,  I  rode  out  to  Phyle, 
which  is  about  eighteen  miles  distant.  The  weather  was 
intensely  hot,  thermometer  ninety -one  degrees  in  the  shade, 
and  a  strong  sirocco  wind,  blowing  directly  from  Africa, 
wrapped  the  mountains  in  a  fiery  blue  film.  A  rapid  trot 
of  two  hours  brought  us  to  an  Albanian  village  at  the  foot 
of  Fames,  where  we  halted  for  breakfast,  and  to  rest  our 
exhausted  horses.  The  inhabitants  have  the  reputation  of 
being  robbers,  and  probably  deserve  it.  They  seemed  to 
have  no  regular  occupation,  and  the  number  of  well-armed, 
lusty,  yellow-moustached,  and  long-nosed  fellows  lounging 
about,  was,  in  itself,  a  suspicious  circumstance.  They  were, 
however,  very  courteous  to  us,  and  I  have  no  doubt  we 
might  have  lived  for  weeks  among  them  with  entire  se- 
curity. 

At  the  little  inn,  where  we  ate  our  cold  chicken  and 
caviar,  moistened  with  resinous  wine,  several  of  the  villa- 
gers were  collected,  in  lively  conversation  with  a  keen, 
quick-eyed  fellow  from  a  distant  village,  whose  witty 
remarks  and  retorts  diverted  them  exceedingly.  One 
wild,  young  scamp  jumped  up  at  intervals,  and  executed 


BYKON    IN    GREECE.  211 

steps  of  the  palikar  dance,  or  romdika,  and  another,  lolluig 
lazily  in  a  corner,  sang  fragments  of  a  song  he  had  learned 
in  Crete : 

"  All  on  <*  Sunday  morning, 

On  Easter  and  New- Year's  day, 
The  bells  of  Holy  Constantino 
They  ring  so  loud  and  gay." 

The  tide  of  fun  ran  high ;  and  I  regretted  that  my  im- 
perfect knowledge  of  the  language  did  not  allow  me  to 
enjoy  it  with  them.  Finally,  however,  one  of  the  villagers 
called  out  to  the  jolly  stranger  :  "  Nicola,  tell  us  that  story 
of  your  second  marriage.  Giorgios  here,  and  •Costandi, 
and  Kyrie  Fran9ois  have  never  heard  it."  "  Oh,  yes !" 
shouted  the  others ;  "  that  was  a  capital  trick  of  Nicola's. 
You  must  all  hear  it."  Nicola  thereupon  began  the  story 
— his  quick  blue  eyes  dancing  in  wicked  delight  under  his 
shaggy  brows  at  the  very  thought  of  the  trick. 

"  You  must  know,"  said  he,  "  that  my  first  wife  died 
about  a  year  and  a  half  ago.  Well,  she  had  not  been  dead 
long,  before  I  found  out  that  I  must  fill  her  place  with 
somebody  else.  It's  poor  business  living  without  a  wife, 
especially  when  you've  been  used  to  having  one.  But  I 
was  as  poor  as  the  Holy  Lazarus,  and  how  to  get  a  hand- 
some girl,  with  a  good  dower,  was  more  than  I  knew.  At 
last  I  remembered  Athanasi,  the  fat  innkeeper  in  Kuluri, 
where  T  had  spent  a  night  a  year  or  two  before.  He  had  a 
daughter,  handsome  and  nimble  enough ;  and  five  hundred 
drachmas,  they  said,  would  go  with  her.  I  must  be  Atha 
aasi's  son-in-law,  I  said  to  myself.  Now,  I  am  no  fool 


212  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

and  presently  I  hit  upon  the  right  plan.  I  washed  my 
fustanellas,  put  on  my  best  clothes,  ami  started  on  mj 
horse  (it's  not  a  bad  animal,  you  know)  for  Kuluri.  But 
first,  I  took  my  big  saddle-bags,  and  filled  them  with  bro- 
ken horse-shoes  and  other  such  bits  of  iron.  Then  I  threw 
in  all  the  money  I  had — about  ten  or  twelve  silver  dollars 
— locked  the  bags,  and  hung  them  over  my  saddle.  As  I 
jogged  along  the  road,  with  the  metal  jingling  under  me 
I  said  to  myself  *  Ho !  Papa  Athanasi,  get  the  bride  ready  • 
your  son  is  a-coming ! ' 

"  When  I  drew  near  Kuluri,  I  put  my  horse  into  a  trot, 
so  that  everybody  heard  the  jingle  as  I  rode.  I  went 
straight  to  Athanasi's,  hung  my  saddle-bags  up  in  a  place 
where  I  could  always  keep  my  eye  on  them,  and  ordered 
dinner.  '  The  best  that  can  be  had,'  said  I,  '  it  will  be  paid 
for !'  The  dinner  was  fit  for  a  bishop,  I  must  say,  and  no 
lack  of  wine.  When  I  was  satisfied,  I  asked  Athanasi, 
*  Who  cooked  for  me  ?'  *  Oh,'  says  he,  '  it  was  my  daugh- 
ter, Heraclea.'  '  Let  her  come,  then,'  says  I :  '  I  must  tell 
her  how  good  it  was.'  Then  I  unlocked  my  saddle-l>airs 
before  their  eyes,  gave  a  dollar  to  Athanasi,  and  another 
to  his  daughter.  I  jingled  the  bags  well  as  I  carried 
them  out — and  heavy  enough  they  were — and  then  rode 
away. 

"The  next  week,  I  came  back  and  did  the  same  thing, 
but  when  Heraclea  had  gone  to  the  kitchen,  I  said  to 
Athanasi :  '  Your  daughter  pleases  me ;  I  should  like  tc 
marry  her,  and  even  if  her  dowry  is  not  so  high  as  I  have 
a  right  to  ask,  I  will  take  her.'  He  looked  at  me,  then  at 
tny  saddle-bags,  brought  another  bottle  of  wine;  and  sc 


BYBON   IN   vJKEECE.  213 

the  thing  was  settled.  It  wasn't  a  month  before  Papa 
Anagnosto  blessed  us  as  man  and  wife ;  and  I  felt  easy  and 
comfortable  again.  Her  dower  was — well,  I  won't  say  how 
much  ;  but  I  might  have  done  worse. 

"  When  my  wife  went  home  with  me,  I  hung  the  saddle- 
bags over  my  bed,  and  cautioned  her  against  allowing  any 
one  to  come  near  them.  She  did  everything  as  I  wanted 
it,  and  was  quiet  and  steady  enough  for  a  week  or  two 
But  a  woman,  you  know,  is  never  satisfied.  I  knew  it 
would  come  and  come  it  did.  '  What  is  the  use  of  all  that 
money  hanging  there,'  she  thought,  '  when  I  might  have 
the  heaviest  gold  ear-rings  in  the  village?'  'Nicola,  my 
life,'  said  she  [here  the  speaker  imitated  a  woman's  voice, 
in  the  most  irresistibly  droll  way],  '  I  should  like  to  get  a 
new  pair  of  ear-rings  for  the  Easter  dances.'  '  Very  well,' 
says  I,  '  here's  my  key.  Go  to  the  saddle-bags  and  take  as 
much  money  as  you  want.'  She  hopped  into  the  bed-room 
like  a  cat,  while  I  went  on  cleaning  my  gun,  as  cool  as  could 
be.  In  a  minute,  she  was  out  again,  looking  scared  and 
pale.  '  Money !' she  screamed ;  *  that's  not  money — it's  bits 
of  iron !'  '  Why,  you're  a  fool :'  said  I,  trying  to  look  as 
wild  as  I  could.  When  I  went  in  with  her,  and  looked 
into  the  saddle-bags,  I  threw  my  gun  on  the  floor,  stamped, 
howled,  and  cursed  like  a  thousand  dragons ;  while  Hera 
clea,  sitting  on  the  bed,  could  only  say:  'Holy  Spiridiou  . 
what  has  happened  ?'  '  Why,'  I  yelled,  '  that  c-ursed  Alex- 
andros,  that  wizard,  that  devil — whom  I  offended  last  week 
— he  has  gone  and  turned  all  my  bright  silver  dollars  into 
iron !'  Then,  when  she  found  I  was  so  furious,  she  tried 
to  quiet  and  console  me.  So  I  got  out  of  the  difficult)' 


214  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE    4ND   BTJSSIA. 

then ;  but  I  guess  she  begins  to  suspect  how  it  really  was 
However,  she  likes  me  well  enough,  and  I  am  now  the 
father  of  a  little  Athanasi ;  so  it  don't  much  matter." 

Nicola's  story — to  the  truth  of  which  some  of  the  villa- 
gers testified — gave  great  amusement  to  his  auditors.  We 
shook  hands  with  the  jolly  band  of  miscreants,  and  rode 
up  the  hot,  narrow  gorge  for  an  hour  or  more,  until  the 
road  approached  the  summit  ridge  of  Parnes,  where,  upon 
a  narrow,  precipitous  cape,  stood  the  ancient  fortress  of 
Phyle.  The  blocks  of  tawny  marble  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed are  entire  to  the  height  of  ten  to  twenty  feet,  and 
picturesquely  overgrown  with  glossy  draperies  of  ivy. 
Sitting  on  the  parapet,  the  savage  defile,  dark  with  pine 
trees,  yawns  below  you ;  while,  between  its  scarped  walls 
of  orange-colored  rock,  you  look  out  over  the  warm  plain 
of  Attica,  as  far  as  Hymettus  and  the  sea.  In  the  central 
distance  rises  the  Acropolis,  distinct  with  all  its  tem- 
ples. Here,  as  in  the  Propyiaea,  you  have  a  foreground 
and  a  frame  for  the  picture ;  and  the  wonderful  coloring 
of  the  landscape,  thus  confined  to  an  extent  which  the 
eye  can  take  in  at  a  single  glance,  assumes  a  purity  and 
depth  which  is  always  wanting  in  a  wide  panoramic 
view. 

On  the  Propylaea,  perfect  Art  inframes  the  harmonious 
landscape;  at  Phyle,  it  is  savage  Nature.  Different  in 
features,  the  views  nevertheless  make  a  similar  impression. 
Nothing  could  better  illustrate  the  integrity  of  Byron's 
appreciation  of  Nature  than  his  selection  of  these  two 
points.  And,  while  sitting  among  the  lizard-haunted  ruins, 
gazing  through  the  hot  film  of  the  sirocco  upon  Athens, 


BYRON  IN  GREECE.  21 C 

and  reflecting  upon  her  flimsy  Court  and  degenerate  people, 
I  could  not  but  admit  that  he  might  still  say : 

"  Spirit  of  Freedom !  when  on  Phyle's  brow 

Thou  sat'st  with  Thrasybulus  and  his  train, 
Couldst  thou  forebode  the  dismal  hour  which  no* 
Dim*  the  green  beauties  of  thine  Attic  plain  Y" 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE     HAUNTS     OF     THE     MUSES. 

WB  left  Athens  on  the  13th  of  April,  for  a  journey  to 
Parnassus  and  the  northern  frontier  of  Greece.  The  com- 
pany consisted  of  Fran9ois,  Braisted,  myself,  and  Ajax  and 
Themistocles,  our  agoyats,  or  grooms.  It  was  a  teeming, 
dazzling  day,  with  light  scarfs  of  cloud-crape  in  the  sky,  and 
a  delicious  breeze  from  the  west  blowing  through  the  pass 
of  Daphne.  The  Gulf  of  Salamis  was  pure  ultramarine, 
covered  with  a  velvety  bloom,  while  the  island  and  Mount 
Kerata  swam  in  transparent  pink  and  violet  tints.  Greece, 
on  such  a  day,  is  living  Greece  again.  The  soul  of  ancient 
Art  and  Poetry  throbs  in  the  splendid  air,  and  pours  its 
divinest  light  upon  the  landscape. 

Crossing  the  sacred  plain  of  Eleusis  for  the  fourth  time  in 
m)  Grecian  journeys,  our  road  entered  the  mountains — 
lower  offshoots  of  Cithjeron,  which  divide  the  plain  from 
that  of  Boeotia.  They  are  now  covered  with  young  pines, 
to  the  very  summits,  and  Franyois  directed  my  attention 
to  the  rapidity  with  which  the  mountains  were  becoming 


THB  HAUNTS   OF   THE   MUSJM.  217 

wooded,  since  the  destruction  of  young  trees  has  been  pro- 
hibited by  law.  The  agricultural  prosperity  of  the  country, 
in  many  districts,  depends  entirely  on  the  restoration  of  the 
lost  forests.  The  sun  was  intensely  hot  in  the  close  glens, 
and  we  fo^uid  the  shade  of  the  old  Cithaeronian  pines  very 
grateful.  We  met  a  straggling  company  of  lancers  return- 
ing from  the  Thessalian  frontier,  and  many  travellers  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon.  Among  the  baggage  animals  fol 
lowing  the  lancers  we  were  surprised  to  find  Pegasus  and 
Bellerophon,  the  lean  horses  which  had  carried  us  through 
the  Peloponnesus ;  and  soon  after,  Aristides  himself  resplen 
dent  in  clean  Easter  garments.  He  was  greatly  disap- 
pointed at  seeing  us  under  way,  as  he  had  intended  to  carry 
us  to  the  Mounts  of  Song  on  his  own  winged  steeds. 

Towards  evening,  we  descended  into  the  valley  of  the 
Eleusinian  Cephissus,  at  the  foot  of  Cithseron,  passing  the 
remains  of  an  ancient  tower,  twenty  feet  high.  At  sunset, 
when  the  sky  had  become  overcast  and  stormy,  we  reached 
the  solitary  khan  of  Casa,  at  the  foot  of  a  rocky,  precipi- 
tous hill,  crowned  by  the  acropolis  of  CEimg,  and  were 
heartily  glad  to  find  shelter  in  the  windy  building,  from  the 
more  violent  wind  outside.  The  keepers  of  the  khan  were 
two  women — old  friends  of  Fran9ois — who  received  us 
with  great  cordiality.  There  was  a  military  barrack  a  few 
paces  off,  containing  a  corporal's  guard,  who  were  sup 
posed  to  keep  down  brigandage.  The  setting  sun  built  a 
magnificent  rainbow  upon  the  bases  of  heavy  clouds,  which 
moved  away  upon  Athens  with  thunder  and  lightning. 
Our  lodging  was  in  a  loft,  among  heaps  of  grain  and  piles 
of  dried  heibs;  but  F.'s  convenient  camp-beds,  as  we  knew 


918  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

from  experience,  were  as  comfortable  in  a  stable  as  any 
where  else ;  and  his  famous  potage  aux  voyageurs  would 
have  made  a  hungry  Lucullus  shriek  with  satisfaction, 
Benevolence  prompts  me  to  communicate  the  receipt  foi 
this  soup,  which  anybody  can  make,  with  a  little  practice 
Boil  two  fowls  for  the  broth :  add  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
vermicelli,  and,  when  nearly  done,  the  yolks  of  four  eggs, 
beaten  up  with  a  gill  of  water.  Then  squeeze  into  the  nJx 
ture  the  juice  of  half  a  lemon  :  and,  lo  !  it  is  done.  If  anj 
lady  can  make  a  better  soup,  with  fewer  materials,  I  should 
be  glad  to  possess  her  autograph. 

We  awoke  to  a  cloudless  sky ;  and,  after  coffee,  climbed 
the  hill  of  (Enoe',  or  Eleutheria,  whichever  it  may  be.  I 
suppose  Leake  is  most  likely  to  be  right ;  and  so  I  shall  call 
it  CEnoe.  A  hard  pull  of  fifteen  minutes  brought  us  to  the 
lower  part  of  the  wall,  which  is  composed  of  immense 
blocks  of  gray  conglomerate  limestone — the  native  rock  of 
the  hill.  The  walls  are  eight  feet  thick,  and  strengthened 
by  projecting  square  towers.  On  both  the  northern  and 
southern  sides,  the  natural  precipices  assist  the  plan  of 
defence.  Following  the  northern  wall  up  the  hill  to  the 
northwestern  angle,  we  were  surprised  to  see  before  us  a 
range  of  tall  square  towers,  which,  with  the  connecting  cur- 
tains, appear  to  be  in  nearly  a  perfect  state.  Of  the  nine 
towers  which  defended  this  side  of  the  city,  eix  are  still 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  in  height.  We  walked 
along  the  top  of  the  wall,  and  passed  through  them  all  in 
succession.  There  are  loop-holes  in  the  sides,  for  arrows  01 
javelins  ;  and  I  noticed  mortices  in  the  stones,  for  the  joists 
which  supported  the  upper  floors.  On  the  southern  side 


TUB   HAUNTS    OF  THE   MUSES.  219 

the  wall  overhangs  the  deep  gorge,  through  which  flown 
the  main  branch  of  the  Cephissus.  There  were  two  mas- 
sive postern  gateways  to  the  town.  The  walls  are  bettei 
preserved,  without  exception,  than  any  which  I  saw  in 
Greece.  They  date  from  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
The  position  of  the  place,  among  the  wild  peaks  of  Cithaeron, 
makes  it  one  of  the  most  picturesque  ruins  in  the  country. 

We  now  climbed  the  main  ridge  of  the  mountains  ;  and, 
in  less  than  an  hour,  reached  the  highest  point — whence  the 
great  Boeotian  plain  suddenly  opened  upon  our  view.  In 
the  distance  gleamed  Lake  Copais,  and  the  hills  beyond  ;  in 
the  west,  the  snowy  top  of  Parnassus,  lifted  clear  and 
bright  above  the  morning  vapors;  and,  at  last,  as  we 
turned  a  shoulder  of  the  mountain  in  descending,  the 
streaky  top  of  Helicon  appeared  on  the  left,  completing  the 
classic  features  of  the  landscape.  We  descended  to  the 
kalyvia,  or  summer  village  of  Vilia,  whose  inhabitants  cul- 
tivate part  of  the  plain  during  the  winter.  The  want  of 
water  obliges  them  to  retire  to  another  village  in  the 
mountains  during  the  summer;  so  that  their  lives  are 
passed  in  a  regular  alternation  between  the  two  places- 
each  village  being  deserted  half  the  year.  This  is  a  very 
common  mode  of  life  among  the  Greek  peasants.  As  we 
entered  the  plain,  taking  a  rough  path  towards  PlataBa,  the 
fields  were  dotted,  far  and  near,  with  the  white  Easter 
shirts  of  the  people  working  among  the  vines. 

Another  hour,  and  our  horses'  hoofs  were  upon  thfc 
sacred  soil  of  Plataea.  The  walls  of  the  city  are  still  to  be 
traced  for  nearly  their  entire  extent.  They  are  precisely 
similar  in  construction  to  those  of  (Enoe — like  which,  also 


220  TRAVEI5    IN   GREECE   AND   EUSSIA. 

they  were  strengthened  by  square  towers.  There  are  th« 
substructions  of  various  edifices — some  of  which  may  have 
been  temples — and  on  the  side  next  the  modern  village  lit 
four  large  sarcophagi,  now  used  as  vats  for  treading  out 
ihe  grapes  in  vintage-time.  A  more  harmless  blood  than 
once  curdled  on  the  stones  of  Plataea  now  stains  the  empty 
•epulchres  of  the  heroes. 

•'  It  was  a  bright  immortal  head 

They  crowned  with  clustering  vine  ; 
A.nd  o'er  their  best  and  bravest  dead, 
They  poured  the  dark-red  wine." 

We  rode  up  to  the  miserable  little  village,  took  our  seats 
in  the  church-door,  and  ate  our  breakfast  there,  gazing  on 
the  hollow  plain  below  the  ruins,  which  witnessed,  proba- 
bly, the  brunt  of  the  battle.  In  the  intense  glare  of  the 
sunshine  no  illusion  was  possible.  The  beggarly  huts 
about  us ;  the  uncouth  piles  of  stones,  lying  here  and  there 
among  the  springing  grass ;  the  bare,  deserted  hills  beyond 
— what  was  there  to  remind  one  of  ancient  valor  and  glory 
in  all  these  ?  The  landscape  was  like  a  worn-out  garment, 
which  the  golden  mist  of  sunset,  or  the  magic  of  moonshine, 
may  touch  with  deceptive  color;  but,  seen  at  noon-day, 
with  eveiy  rent  and  patch  obtruded  to  your  gaze,  it  is  sim- 
ply—rags. 

Nevertheless,  we  rode  over  the  plain,  fixed  the  features 
of  the  scene  in  our  memories,  and  then  kept  on  towards  the 
field  of  Leuktra,  where  the  brutal  power  of  Sparta  received 
its  first  check.  The  two  fields  are  so  near,  that  a  part  of 
the  fighting  may  have  been  done  upon  the  same  ground 


THE   HAUNTS   OF  THE   MUSES.  22] 

The  landmarks  of  Leuktra  are  so  uncertain,  however,  that 
I  trusted  entirely  to  Francois,  who  had  conducted  travel- 
lers thither  for  thirty  years,  and  plucked  some  field-flowers 
on  the  spot  he  pointed  out.  I  then  turned  my  horse's  head 
towards  Thebes,  which  we  reached  in  two  hours. 

It  was  a  pleasant  scene,  though  so  different  from  that  ol 
two  thousand  years  ago.  The  town  is  built  partly  on  thi? 
bill  of  the  Cadmeion,  and  partly  on  the  plain  below.  An 
aqueduct,  on  mossy  arches,  supplies  it  with  water,  and 
keeps  its  gardens  green.  The  plain  to  the  north  is  itself 
one  broad  garden  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  of  the  Sphinx,  be- 
yond which  is  the  blue  gleam  of  a  lake,  then  a  chain  of 
barren  hills,  and  over  all  the  snowy  cone  of  Mount  Delphi, 
in  Eubcea.  The  only  remains  of  the  ancient  city  are  stones; 
for  the  massive  square  tower,  now  used  as  a  prison,  cannot 
be  ascribed  to  an  earlier  date  than  the  reign  of  the  Latin 
princes.  A  recent  excavation  has  disclosed  the  foundations 
of  a  mediaeval  building,  constructed  of  ancient  stones.  Can 
it  be  the  palace  of  that  Theban  merchant  who  bought  the 
Duchy  of  Naxos  and  made  himself  the  equal  of  kings — the 
architectural  wonder  of  Greece  during  the  Middle  Ages  ? 
The  site  of  the  town  is  superb.  Both  Helicon  and  Parnas- 
sus tower  in  the  south  and  west,  and  even  a  corner  of  Pen- 
telicus  is  visible.  While  I  sat  beside  the  old  tower,  sketch 
ing  the  Mountain  of  the  Sphinx,  a  Theban  eagle — the  spirit 
of  Pir.dar — soared  slowly  through  the  blue  depths  abov<\ 
The  memories  of  Pindar  and  Epnminondas  consecrate  the 
soil  of  Thebes,  though  she  helped  to  ruin  Greece  by  her 
selfish  jealousy  of  Athens.  It  is  not  an  accidental  circum 
stance  that  she  has  so  utterly  disappeared,  while  the  Pro 


222  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND   RUSSIA. 

pylsea  of  the  Athenian  Acropolis,  which  Epaminondas 
threatened  to  carry  off,  still  stand — and  may  they  stand  foi 
everl 

A  scholar  from  the  French  Academy  at  Athens  joined  us 
in  the  evening.  He  was  out  hunting  inscriptions.  The 
French  scholars  are  always  hunting  inscriptions,  and  it  is 
wonderful  what  a  lot  of  archaeological  eggs  (addled)  they 
discover.  This  time  he  had  certainly  heard  of  a  nest,  and 
was  on  his  way  at  full  gallop,  to  secure  the  prize.  The 
next  night  he  rejoined  us  at  Livadia,  wet  to  the  skin,  with 
out  an  alpha  or  a  beta  about  him,  and  rather  disposed  to 
find  the  secret  of  the  Pindaric  measure  in  the  red  Boeotian 
wine,  than  to  grope  any  longer  in  empty  cellars. 

The  next  morning  we  rode  down  from  the  Cadmeion,  and 
took  the  highway  to  Livadia,  leading  straight  across  the 
Boeotian  plain.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  alluvial  bottoms  in 
the  world,  a  deep,  dark,  vegetable  mould — which  would 
produce  almost  without  limit,  were  it  properly  cultivated. 
Before  us,  blue  and  dark  under  a  weight  of  clouds,  lay 
Parnassus ;  and  far  across  the  immense  plain  the  blue  peaks 
of  Mount  (Eta.  In  three  hours  we  reached  the  foot  of 
Helicon,  and  looked  up  at  the  streaks  of  snow  which  melt 
into  the  Fountain  of  the  Muses.  Presently  a  stream,  as 
limpid  as  air,  issued  from  the  cleft  heart  of  the  mountain 
"  0  fons  Bandusice,  splendidior  vitro  /"  I  exclaimed ;  but 
it  was  a  diviner  than  the  Bandusian  wave  which  gurgled  its 
liquid  dactyls  over  the  marble  pebbles.  Ajax  and  Themis- 
tocles  had  halted  in  the  shade  of  a  garden  on  the  bank  ; 
Franyois  was  unpacking  hi<  saddle-bags ;  so  I  leapt  fron: 
Erato,  my  mare,  knelt  among  the  asphodels,  and  drank 


THE    11  ALMS    OF   THE    MUSKb.  223 

The  water  bad  that  sweetness  and  purity  which  makes  you 
seein  to  inhale,  rather  than  drink  it.  The  palate  swam  in 
the  delicious  flood  with  a  delight  which  acknowledged  nc 
satiety.  "  What  is  this  ?"  I  said,  as  I  lifted  up  my  head 
"  Can  it  be  the  Muses'  Fountain  coining  down  from  youdei 
mountain  ?  Whence  this  longing  unsuppressed  in  my 
breast — this  desire  that  is  springing  to  be  singing?  My 
veins  are  on  fire — give  me  a  lyre !  I'll  beat  Apollo  all 
hollow !" 

"Pshaw !"  said  Francois  (who  had  just  taken  a  draught). 
"  He  now  can  drink  who  chooses,  at  the  Fountain  of 
the  Muses.  Why,  you  know,  the  gods  and  goddesses, 
and  the  nymphs  in  scanty  bodices,  are  now  no  more  de- 
tected in  the  shrines  to  them  erected.  That  was  only  a 
superstition  unworthy  a  man  of  your  position.  To  such 
illusions  you're  no  dupe :  this  water's  very  good  for 
soup  !" 

"  Sound  the  hew-gag,  beat  the  tonjon !"  exclaimed 
Braisted,  who  had  not  been  thirsty :  "  I  believe  you  are 
both  crazy."  But  the  mare,  Erato,  who  had  taken  long 
draughts  from  the  stream,  whinnied,  whisked  her  tail,  and 
galloped  off  one  line  of  hexameter  after  another,  as  we  con 
tinued  our  journey.  So  I  devoutly  testify  that  Helicon 
is  not  yet  dry,  and  the  Fountain  of  the  Muses  retains 
its  ancient  virtue. 

In  the  afternoon  we  turned  the  spur  of  a  mountain — a 
sort  of  outpost  between  Helicon  and  Parnassus — and  saw 
before  us  Livadia,  on  the  northern  slope  of  a  high  hill.  A 
ruined  Turkish  fortress,  with  two  round  towers,  gave  the 
place  a  wild,  picturesque  air,  while  the  green  gardens  and 


224  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND   RUSSIA. 

mulberry  orchards  below,  relieved  the  sterility  of  the  gra) 
cliffs  which  towered  above  it.  Clear,  bright,  mountair 
water  gushed  in  full  streams  down  the  glen,  and  wandered 
away  into  the  rich  plain,  fructifying  the  pregnant  soil 
wherever  it  went.  We  reached  a  large,  dreary  khan,  :u 
the  rain  began  to  fall ;  and,  having  established  ourselves 
there  for  the  night,  set  out  to  visit  the  cave  of  the  oracle 
of  Trophonius.  It  lies  at  the  upper  end  of  the  town,  in  a 
ravine  which  is  buried  almost  below  the  sunshine  by  precipi- 
tous rocks  that  tower  more  than  a  thousand  feet  above. 
The  grand,  savage  aspect  of  the  spot  might  well  have 
given  rise  to  the  ancient  superstition  that  he  who  once 
entered  the  cave  never  smiled  again.  Notwithstanding  its 
reputation,  I  took  refuge  in  one  of  the  hollow  chambers 
from  the  torrents  of  rain  which  drove  down  the  awful 
gorge. 

A  ride  of  three  hours  the  next  day  brought  us  to  Chero- 
no3a,  the  battle-field  where  the  Bo3otians  made  their  last 
desperate  stand  against  Philip  of  Macedou.  The  ruins  of 
the  city  have  disappeared,  with  the  exception  of  the  thea- 
tre, the  seats  of  which  are  hewn  in  the  solid  rock,  and  some 
fragments  of  marble  and  breccia ;  but  the  monument  to  the 
Bosotians  who  fell  in  the  battle  is  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing in  Greece.  The  colossal  lion,  placed  in  the  sepulchral 
mound,  had  gradually  become  imbedded  in  the  earth,  and 
thus  preserved,  when  it  was  discovered  and  blown  to  pieces 
with  gunpowder  by  the  guerilla  chieftain,  Odysseus,  during 
the  war  of  independence.  The  head  remains  entire,  with 
the  eyes  upturned  in  the  agony  of  death,  and  the  teeth  set 
in  the  last  howl  of  mingled  rage  and  despair.  I  have  nevei 


THE    IJAUNTS    OF   THE   MUSES.  2215 

seen  a  more  grand  and  touching  memorial.  The  mutilated 
face  embodies  the  death-cry  of  Greece.  It  expresses  a 
despair  so  awful,  yet  so  heroic,  that  a  man  need  not  blush 
if  he  should  find  sudden  tears  starting  into  his  eyes  as  he 
gazes  upon  it 


CHAPTER   XX. 

PABNAS8U8     AND     THE     DORIAN     MOUNTAINS. 

THB  khan  at  Cheronsea  was  a  mere  hovel,  where  the  onlj 
place  for  our  beds  was  in  the  stable  among  the  horses 
Our  hoofed  friends  were  tolerably  quiet,  however,  and 
nothing  disturbed  our  slumber  except  the  crowing  of  the 
cocks.  But  the  landlord  of  this  hotel  demanded  no  less 
than  three  dollars  for  our  lodgings ;  and  thereupon  ensued 
one  of  those  terribly  wordy  battles  in  which  Fran9ois  was 
a  veteran  combatant.  Epithets  struck  and  clashed  against 
one  another  like  swords ;  the  host  was  pierced  through  and 
through  with  furious  lunges,  and  even  our  valiant  dragoman 
did  not  escape  some  severe  wounds.  Then  some  peasants, 
whose  horses  had  been  stalled  for  the  night  in  our  bed-room, 
demanded  to  be  paid  for  the  feed  of  the  animals,  because, 
they  said,  we  had  fed  ours  in  the  stable,  which  obliged 
them  to  feed  theirs,  unnecessarily.  The  Greeks  believe, 
that  if  one  horse  sees  another  eat,  without  eating  himself, 
he  will  fall  sick,  and  perhaps  die.  Until  I  discovered  this 
fact,  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  when  we  reached  a  khan. 


PARNASSUS  ANJ*  THE  bOKIAX  MOUNTAIN'S.      221 

all  the  horses  were  removed  from  the  stable  until   after 
ours  had  been  fed,  when  they  were  brought  back  again. 

In  the  morning,  tremendous  black  clouds  were  hanging 
over  Parnassus ;  and  deep-blue  gloom,  alternating  with 
streaks  of  fierce  sunshine,  checkered  the  broad,  level  valley 
<.»f  the  Cephissus — the  highway  through  which  the  Persians 
and  the  Macedonians  marched  upon  Greece.  As  we  skirted 
the  plain,  riding  towards  the  south-eastern  corner  of  Par- 
nassus, Fraii9ois  pointed  out  a  village,  hanging  on  the  dark, 
rocky  slope.  "  That  is  Daulia !  "  said  he.  The  ancient 
Daulis,  the  birth-place  of  the  nightingale !  The  thickets 
by  every  stream  resounded  with  the  exquisite  songs  of  the 
bird  of  passion  and  of  sorrow. 

"  Dost  thou  once  more  essay 
Thy  flight ;  and  feel  come  over  thee, 
Poor  fugitive,  the  feathery  change 
Once  more ;  and  once  more  make  resound, 
With  love  and  hate,  triumph  and  agony, 
Lone  Daulis  and  the  high  Cephissian  vale  ?  " 

We  now  entered  a  deep  defile,  leading  along  the  southern 
base  of  Parnassus  to  Delphi.  The  country  was  stony  and 
barren,  overgrown  only  with  broom  and  furze,  and 
reminded  me  of  some  of  the  wilder  parts  of  Scotland. 
This  is  the  home  of  brigands,  and  they  still  abound  in  these 
rocky  fastnesses.  A  shepherd-boy,  tending  his  flock  of 
black  goats,  called  out  to  us :  "  The  robbers  have  come 
down — have  you  met  any  of  them  ?  "  He  informed  us 
that,  five  days  before,  they  had  carried  off  a  rich  Greek, 
they  were  keeping  in  a  caven  somewhere  in  the 


228  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

rocks  overhanging  the  defile.  They  demanded  thirtj 
thousand  dollars  for  his  ransom,  and  would  not  give  him 
up  until  the  money  was  paid. 

Passing  the  spot  where  CEdipus  killed  his  father,  and  the 
wild  gorge  of  Schiste,  we  reached,  about  eleven  o'clock, 
the  khan  of  Ismenos,  tolerably  high  up  on  the  side  of 
Parnassus,  whose  snowy  peak  cleft  the  sky,  wrapt  in  a 
misty  veil  of  drifting  snow.  The  wind  was  frightful.  It 
blew  with  tremendous  force  and  icy  coldness,  stiffening  our 
limbs  and  freezing  the  very  blood  in  our  veins.  A  snow- 
storm raged  around  the  topmost  summit  of  Parnassus, 
which  shone  now  and  then  with  a  blinding  white  gleam,  as 
the  clouds  parted.  While  we  were  breakfasting,  a  com- 
pany of  shepherds  arrived.  Instead  of  Arcadian  crooks 
they  carried  muskets  and  daggers,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
looked  after  something  else  besides  their  sheep.  They 
were  fierce,  splendid  fellows,  with  a  strong  dash  of  the 
ancient  Hellenic  blood  in  their  veins.  Two  of  them  had 
come  to  appeal  to  the  keeper  of  the  khan  as  an  arbitrator, 
one  accusing  the  other  of  having  stolen  two  sheep,  while 
the  latter  claimed  compensation  for  the  damage  done  to  his 
grain  by  eight  sheep  belonging  to  the  former.  It  was  a 
double  case,  not  easily  to  be  decided,  and  the  mild  little 
umpire  quite  lost  his  wits  in  the  storm  that  ra^cd  around 
him.  Fists  were  clenched,  furious  words  flung  back  and 
forth,  daggers  drawn,  and  every  moment  I  expected  to 
gee  blood  flow.  It  was  a  wild,  exciting  scene,  in  singular 
keeping  with  the  hurricane  outside,  which  made  the  house 
rock  to  its  foundations. 

As  we  continued  our  journey  along  the  southern  side  of 


PARNASSUS    AND   THE   DORIAN    MOUNTAINS.  22  J 

Parnassus,  high  over  the  gorge  between  it  and  a  cluster  of 
barren  peaks,*fonning  a  cape  between  the  bays  of  Salona 
and  Aspropitia,  I  was  several  times  almost  unhorsed  by  the 
violence  of  the  wind.  One  of  the  first  poems  I  read,  as  a 
child,  was  Mrs.  Heroans'  "  Storm  at  Delphi,"  commen 
cing: 

Far  through  the  Delphian  shades 
A  Persian  trumpet  rang ;  " 

— and,  though  forgotten  for  years,  it  returned  to  my 
memory  as  we  faced  the  gusts  which  seemed  still  to  protect 
the  shrine  of  the  god.  In  two  hours,  however,  we  reached 
the  village  of  Arachova,  which  is  situated  most  pictu- 
resquely on  the  steep  mountain  side,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast 
amphitheatric  sweep  of  terraced  vineyards.  The  place  was 
almost  entirely  deserted,  the  inhabitants  being  in  the  fields 
or  upon  the  mountain  with  their  flocks.  The  few  whom 
we  saw,  however,  verified  the  correctness  of  the  statement 
that  on  Parnassus,  as  on  the  sides  of  Taygetus,  may  still  be 
found  traces  of  the  ancient  blood  of  Greece.  Here  still 
live  the  forms  of  Phidias — the  rude  plebeian  type  of  that 
ennobled  and  perfected  beauty  which  furnished  him  with 
the  models  of  heroes,  demi-gods,  and  deities.  Yon  bare 
footed  girl,  filling  her  pitcher  at  the  fountain,  would  have 
been  a  Venus  of  Milo,  in  a  higher  social  sphere ;  the  shep- 
herd, asleep  on  a  sheltered  bank  under  the  rocks,  is  already 
a  Faun  of  Praxiteles,  and  might  be  a  Theseus  or  a  Perseus ; 
and  these  children  need  but  the  loveliness  of  nudity  to 
oecome  Cupids,  Ganymedes,  and  Psyches.  The  clear-cut 
symmetry  of  the  features,  the  lo\v  brow,  short  upper  lip 


230  TRAVELS    IX   GREECE    AND   RUSSIA. 

and  rounded  chin,  the  beautiful  balance  of  the  limbs,  and 
that  perfect  modelling  of  the  trunk,  which  neither  conceals 
nor  exhibits  too  much  the  development  of  the  muscles,  are 
all  here — so  far  as  the  body  can  be  seen  through  its  dis 
:|uise.  The  true  Greeks  diifer  from  the  Albanians  and 
the  mongrel  Turco-Slavic- Venetian  race,  which  constitute 
the  bulk  of  the  population,  in  everything — in  character, 
form,  features,  and  movement — and  I  cannot  understand 
why  it  is  that  enthusiastic  travellers  persist  in  seeing  iu 
every  one  who  bears  the  name  of  Greek  a  descendant  of 
Pericles,  or  Leonidas,  or  Homer. 

As  we  left  Arachova,  proceeding  towards  Delphi,  the 
deep  gorge  opened,  disclosing  a  blue  glimpse  of  the  Gulf 
of  Corinth  and  the  Acha'ian  mountains.  Tremendous  clifts 
of  blue-gray  limestone  towered  upon  our  right,  high  over 
the  slope  of  Delphi,  which  ere  long  appeared  before  us. 
Our  approach  to  the  sacred  spot  was  marked  by  tombs  cut 
in  the  rock.  A  sharp  angle  of  the  mountain  was  passed ;  and 
then,  all  at  once,  the  enormous  walls,  buttressing  the  upper 
region  of  Parnassus,  stood  sublimely  against  the  sky,  cleft 
right  through  the  middle  by  a  terrible  split,  dividing  the 
twin  peaks  which  give  a  name  to  the  place.  At  the  bottom 
of  this  chasm  issue  forth  the  waters  of  Castaly,  and  fill  a 
stone  trough  by  the  road-side.  On  a  long,  sloping  moun- 
tain-terrace beyond,  facing  the  east,  stood  once  the  town 
and  temples  of  Delphi,  ai  d  now  the  modern  village  of 
Kastri. 

Franyois  conducted  us  up  the  hill  to  the  house  of  Mr. 
Triandaphylli  (Hose),  a  good-1  umored  old  fellow,  who. 
with  hig  wife,  received  us  in  the  most  cordial  manner 


PARNASSUS    AND   THE    DORIAN    MOUNTAINS.  231 

They  occupied  a  second  story,  with  two  rooms,  one  of 
which  had  a  broad  chininey-place,  where  they  were  cooking 
dinner.  The  shelter  and  the  fire  were  most  welcome  to  us. 
and  so  were  the  bowls  of  red,  resinous  wine,  which  Dame 
Rose,  with  the  air  of  a  Pythoness,  presented  to  us.  An 
old  soldier,  who  has  nominal  charge  of  the  antiquities — an 
easy  way  of  pensioning  him  upon  travellers — had  scented 
us  from  afar,  and  now  offered  his  services  as  guide.  We 
were  at  first  disinclined  to  move;  but  the  warmth  and  the 
Delphian  wine  soon  restored  all  the  enthusiasm  which  the 
Parnassian  winds  had  blown  out  of  us,  and  we  sallied  fbrth. 

As  you  may  imagine,  our  first  walk  was  to  the  shrine  of 
the  Delphic  oracle,  at  the  bottom  of  the  cleft  between  the 
two  peaks.  The  hewn  face  of  the  rock,  with  a  niche,  sup- 
posed to  be  that  where  the  Pythia  sat  upon  her  tripod,  and 
a  secret  passage  under  the  floor  of  the  sanctuary,  are  all 
that  remain.  The  Castalian  fountain  still  gushes  out  at  the 
bottom,  into  a  large  square  inclosure,  called  the  Pythia's 
Bath,  and  now  choked  up  with  mud,  weeds,  and  stones. 
Among  those  weeds,  I  discerned  one  of  familiar  aspect, 
plucked  and  tasted  it.  Water-cress,  of  remarkable  size  and 
flavor!  We  thought  no  more  of  Apollo  and  his  shrine, 
but  delving  wrist-deep  into  Castalian  mud,  gathered  huge 
handfuls  of  the  profane  herb,  which  we  washed  in  the 
sacred  fount,  and  sent  to  Fran9ois  for  a  salad. 

We  then  descended  to  a  little  monastery,  on  the  opposite 
dlope  of  the  glen.  In  the  court-yard,  at  the  door  of  a  small. 
fantastic  church,  leaned  three  or  four  ancient  bas-reliefs. 
One  was  the  torso  of  a  man,  life  size,  and  very  well  model- 
ed: a  smaller  one,  full  of  spirit,  represented  foui  horses 


232  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

attached  to  a  chariot.  The  monastery  stands  on  an  ancient 
terrace,  of  fine  square  blocks,  which  the  soldier  said  had 
oiice  supported  a  school,  or  gymnasium — who  knows  ?  All 
through  and  around  Kastri  are  portions  of  similar  terraces, 
some  of  very  early  masonry.  Of  ihe  temple  of  Apollo 
there  only  remain  blocks,  marble  drums,  and  the  inscrip- 
tion which  cost  poor  Ottfried  Muller  his  life. 

As  the  sun  sank,  I  sat  on  the  marble  blocks  and  sketched 
the  immortal  landscape.  High  above  me,  on  the  left,  soared 
the  enormous  twin  peaks  of  pale-blue ,  rock,  lying  half  in 
the  shadow  of  the  mountain  slope  upheaved  beneath,  half 
bathed  in  the  deep  yellow  lustre  of  sunset.  Before  me 
rolled  wave  after  wave  of  the  Parnassian  chain,  divided  by 
deep  lateral  valleys,  while  Helicon,  in  the  distance,  gloomed 
tike  a  thunder-storm  under  the  weight  of  gathered  clouds. 
Across  this  wild,  vast  view,  the  breaking  clouds  threw 
broad  belts  of  cold  blue  shadow,  alternating  with  zones  of 
angry  orange  light,  in  which  the  mountains  seemed  to  be 
heated  to  a  transparent  glow.  The  furious  wind  hissed  and 
howled  over  the  piles  of  ruin,  and  a  few  returning  shep- 
herds were  the  only  persons  to  be  seen.  And  this  spot,  for 
a  thousand  years,  was  the  shrine  where  spake  the  awful 
oracle  of  Greece !  And  yet — what  was  it?  A  hideous  ne>i 
of  priestcraft — of  jugglery,  delusion,  and  fraud.  Only  the 
ideal  halo  thrown  over  it  by  the  Mount  and  the  Fountaii 
of  Song,  has  given  to  the  name  of  Delphi  such  wonderfu 
music.  The  soil  where  Plato's  olives  grew  is  more  truly 
hallowed.  When  y»u  stand  before  the  naked  shrine,  you 
think  less  of  the  cloudy  sentences  uttered  there,  the  words 
of  fate  for  Greece,  than  of  the  secret  passage  laid  bare 


PARNASSUS    AND   THE   DORfAN   MOUNTAINS.  23«? 

below  the  Pythia's  niche — the  trickery  under  the  iuspira 
tion.  But  as  it  then  was,  so  it  is  now;  so  will  it  always  be 
Does  not  the  blood  of  St.  Januarius  become  liquid  once  a 
year?  Do  not  pictures  weep  and  bleed,  and  skeleton 
bones  fhll  upon  doctors'  tables  ?* 

When  we  returned  to  the  Triandaphylli  mansion,  we 
found  the  Roses,  old  and  young,  at  their  supper.  Their 
meal  consisted  of  a  stew  of  veal  and  onions,  with  bread 
and  good  wine.  The  old  lady  handed  me  her  glass,  and 
her  husband  picked  out  and  extended  to  me  on  his  fork,  a 
choice  fragment  of  meat,  as  a  token  of  hospitality.  While 
we  had  been  absent,  Frnn§ois  had  improved  the  opportu- 
nity, and  gratified  his  own  and  their  love  of  gossip,  by 
giving  all  manner  of  information  concerning  us.  When, 
therefore,  I  took  the  glass  of  wine,  Mrs.  Rose  aivse,  like  a 
Pythia,  with  extended  arms,  and  moved  by  the  Delphic 
spirit,  uttered  a  prophetic  sentence.  What  she  said,  you, 
reader,  have  no  right  to  know :  it  suffices  that  the  oracle  is 
not  yet  dumb.  It  spake  to  me :  and,  under  the  spell  of  thn 
place,  I  believed  it.  Was  it  fulfilled?  you  ask.  Well — no. 

Fran9ois  slept  among  the  Roses,  and  we  in  an  outer 
room,  lulled  by  a  wind  which  threatened  to  shake  down  the 
house.  In  the  morning,  it  still  blew  so  violently,  that  I 
gave  up  my  intention  of  visiting  the  Corcyrean  Cave,  espe- 
cially as  we  learned  that  the  upper  plateau  of  Parnassus 
was  still  covered  with  snow.  We  went,  however,  to  tlu 
stadium  of  the  Delphic  games,  which  lies  along  the  hill 
side,  above  the  village.  Parting  with  our  friendly  hosts. 

*  See  the  Annals  of  Spiritualism  in  N\-w  York. 


234  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

we  passed  out  by  the  ancient  gate  of  Delphi,  which  was 
hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock.  On  rounding  the  corner  of  the 
mountain,  there  opened  upon  us  a  glorious  view  of  the  rich, 
olive-covered  Chrissean  plain  below,  the  Gulf  of  Corinth 
with  Erymanthus  and  Pan-acha'icum  beyond,  and  the  daz- 
zling Dorian  mountains  to  the  westward.  The  descent  to 
the  valley,  which  was  rough  and  difficult,  occupied  two 
hours. 

On  the  slope  of  the  opposite  mountain,  lay  the  flourish- 
ing town  of  Salona.  We  did  not  visit  it,  but  bore  to  the 
right,  up  the  course  of  the  stream,  into  the  Dorian  hills. 
The  valley  gave  cheering  evidence  of  improvement,  being 
covered  with  young  olive  orchards  and  thriving  vineyards, 
to  the  extent  of  which  the  people  are  adding  every  year. 
At  the  bottom  of  each  field  was  a  square  basin  of  masonry, 
with  a  hole  leading  to  a  sunken  vat — a  primitive  but  very 
serviceable  wine-press.  The  gorge  now  became  narrow 
and  wild,  overhung  by  precipices  of  blue  limestone,  stained 
with  the  loveliest  orange  tints.  Turning  a  sudden  angle, 
we  saw  before  us  the  village  of  Topolia,  built  up  a  steep 
cape  of  the  mountain,  at  the  intersection  of  two  valleys, 
rich  with  fine  old  olive  groves.  Sparkling  streams  gushed 
down  the  rocks  in  silver  foam,  and  hedges  of  fig  and  pome- 
granate embowered  the  paths.  Here  the  blast  of  war 
which  has  elsewhere  in  Greece  left  such  desolating  traces 
?eems  never  to  have  reached.  It  was  an  idyl  of  the  ancient 
Doris. 

The  houses  were  large,  two-storied,  and  comfortable,  and 
the  people,  who  thronged  the  narrow,  tortuous  streets  in 
Sunday  idleness,  had  mostly  faces  of  the  old  Ilellenii 


PABNASSUS   AND   THE    DORIAN    MOUNTAINS.  235 

stamp.  Some  children,  gathered  about  a  fountain,  were  as 
beautiful  as  anything  in  ancient  art.  After  a  search,  we 
found  a  large  country  store,  better  stocked  than  any  we 
saw  in  Greece.  Here  we  breakfasted,  gazed  upon  by  a 
curious,  but  good-humored  and  friendly  crowd.  The  people 
asked  many  questions,  and  seemed  delighted  that  I  was  able 
to  converse  a  little  with  them  in  their  own  language.  I 
was  considerably  puzzled  for  awhile  by  their  speaking  of 
Delphi  as  Adelphous.  Among  others,  a  dumb  man  came 
in,  and  made  piteous  attempts  to  talk  to  us,  accompanying 
his  gestures  with  uncouth,  inarticulate  noises.  We  took 
special  notice  of  him,  which  seemed  to  gratify  the  others 
very  much.  I  gave  him  a  tumbler  of  wine,  which  he  flou- 
rished around  his  head,  and  then  drank,  placing  one  hand 
upon  his  heart,  with  signs  of  extravagant  joy.  I  was 
delighted  to  find  that  here,  as  in  Sparta,  the  character  of 
the  people  improved  in  proportion  as  they  approached  the 
purity  of  the  ancient  blood. 

After  leaving  Topolia,  our  road  took  to  the  hills,  cross- 
ing  the  summit  of  the  lower  ridges,  connecting  Parnassus 
with  the  Dorian  Mountains.  We  passed  a  most  pictu- 
resque old  mill,  with  a  lofty  race,  raised  on  a  wall,  from 
•vhich  the  water  was  carried  to  the  wheel  in  curious  wickei 
tubes,  plastered  with  clay.  It  was  a  ride  of  nearly  four 
hours  to  the  khan  of  Gravia,  over  the  wild,  uninhabited 
hills,  sparsely  dotted  with  fir-trees  on  their  northern  side. 
As  we  descended  towards  the  upper  valley  of  the  Cephissus, 
(Eta,  the  boundary  of  Thessaly  Phthiotis,  came  in  sight. 
Following  the  course  of  a  rapid  stream,  we  descended  into 
the  valley,  which  opened  green  and  lovely  before  us,  shining 


236  TUAVELS  IN  GREECE  AND  BUSSIA. 

softlj  in  the  mellow  gleam  of  the  sun,  already  dropping 
behind  the  Dorian  snows.  The  place  contained  only  half 
a  dozen  houses,  each  one  of  which  was  anxious  to  offer  ua 
lodgings.  Our  room  was  large  and  dirty,  but  the  evening 
soup  was  better  than  ever,  and  besides,  our  Topolian  wine 
was  of  that  kind  which  cheers  the  heart,  but  not  inebriates 
the  brain. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  FRONTIER  OF  THESSALY. 

we  left  the  khan  of  Gravia  at  sunrise,  hundreds 
of  nightingales  were  singing  in  the  green  thickets,  and  the 
light  already  lay  warm  on  the  glorious  plain.  After  cross- 
ing Cephissus,  we  rode  for  two  hours  across  the  low  hills 
along  the  western  base  of  CEta,  which  were  completely 
covered  with  forests  of  oak,  in  full  foliage.  Although  our 
bridle  track  was  rough  and  muddy,  I  enjoyed  greatly  those 
sweet  Arcadian  woods,  brightened  by  the  purple  sprays  of 
the  Judas-tree,  and  fragrant  with  the  odors  of  the  flower- 
spangled  turf.  The  ground  was  covered  with  fallen  trunks 
and  dead  limbs — an  immense  supply  of  fire-wood,  rotting 
idly  in  a  country  where  it  is  exceedingly  scarce  and  dear. 
Fran9ois  affirmed  that  the  Dorians  were  mostly  bandits, 
and  that  their  laziness  accounted  for  the  ruined  and 
neglected  appearance  of  the  country.  As  we  climbed  the 
sides  of  CEta,  plunging  up  and  down  great  ravines,  there 
were  fine  views  of  Parnassus  across  the  plain.  Anothei 
hour  of  ascent  brought  us  to  the  summit,  and  we  saw, 


238  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

through  the  mountain  gateway  opening  before  us,  Mount 
Othrys,  an  off-shoot  of  Pindus,  and  the  modern  as  it  \\  :\s 
the  ancient  frontier  of  Greece  on  the  north. 

On  the  topmost  peak  of  (Eta,  which  rose  on  our  right. 
near  at  hand,  is  the  spot  where  Hercules  died,  wrapped  in 
the  poisoned  shirt  of  the  Centaur.  But  how  dim  seemed 
those  grand  old  traditions  in  the  clear,  unillusive  light  of  a 
spring  morning  !  Hercules  was  as  far  away  as  if  that  were 
the  Alleghanies,  and  not  (Eta,  and  the  only  association 
which  came  readily  to  my  mind  was  an  absurd  one.  A  few 
months  before,  I  had  been  reading  Immerrnann's  novel  of 
"  Mtmchausen,"  wherein,  under  the  disguise  of  goats  upon 
Mount  (Eta,  he  holds  up  the  transcendontalists  and  reform- 
ers of  Germany  to  the  most  exquisite  and  unmerciful  ridi- 
cule. These  goats  and  their  socialistic  pranks  obstinately 
thrust  themselves  on  my  memory,  and  instead  of  sighing 
sentimentally,  I  laughed  profanely.  O  heroes  and  demi 
gods  1  pardon  me ;  and  yet  not  only  Aristophanes,  but 
Plato,  would  have  done  the  same  thing.  Let  us  be  honest, 
if  we  cannot  be  ideal.  When  a  man  always  feels  the  pro- 
per emotion  at  the  right  place,  suspect  him  ! 

Descending  for  a  mile  or  two  through  groves  of  fir,  oak, 
and  beach,  we  came  upon  the  open  side  of  (Eta,  whence  a 
superb  panorama  is  suddenly  unfolded  to  the  view.  The 
great  plain  of  the  Spercheios,  tinted  with  all  the  softest 
coloi-s  of  spring — a  shifting  web  of  pink,  green,  and  gold — 
lay  unrolled  beneath  from  its  far  source  at  the  feet  of  Pin 
dus  to  the  broad  arc  in  which  it  embraces  the  Malian  gulf 
Beyond  the  valley  ran  the  long  gray  ridge  of  Othrys,  ter 
minating,  far  to  the  east,  in  the  snowy  summit  of  Pelion 


THE   FRONTIER    OF   THESSALY.  23fl 

The  town  of  Lamia,  sprinkled  in  a  hollow  at  the  base  of  the 
hills,  glimmered  faintly  in  the  distance.  The'  blue  moun 
tains  of  Euboea  bounded  the  view  on  the  east,  ,vnd  deep 
down  on  our  right,  at  the  base  of  QEta,  lay  the  pass  of 
Thermopylae.  A  long  and  rough  descent  followed,  but  the 
path  was  shaded  with  oak,  ilex,  laurel,  mastic,  and  pine, 
among  which  were  the  first  beeches  we  had  seen  in  Greece 
We  breakfasted  at  a  fountain,  half-way  down  ;  then,  leaving 
the  baggage  to  take  the  direct  road  to  Lamia,  descended  to 
the  corner  where  (Eta  of  old  jutted  into  the  gulf,  forming 
the  pass  of  immortal  name. 

Thermopylffi  is  not  so  formidable  now.  The  deposits  of 
the  Spercheios  have,  in  the  course  of  twenty-three  hundred 
years,  formed  a  marsh,  from  one  to  three  miles  in  width, 
between  the  base  of  the  mountains  and  the  sea.  The  Per- 
sian army  was  encamped  upon  the  broad  valley  of  the 
Spercheios,  while  the  Greeks  had  posted  themselves  a  mile 
or  more  within  the  pass,  near  the  hot-springs  whence  it 
devives  its  name.  Here  the  Spartans  were  seen  by  Per- 
sian scouts,  on  the  morning  of  the  battle,  washing  their 
faces  and  combing  their  long  hair.  They  seem  to  have 
advanced  to  the  mouth  of  the  pass,  and  there  met  the  first 
onset ;  but  gradually  fell  back  to  a  low  hill  near  their  first 
position,  where  the  last  of  them  were  slain.  The  similarity 
between  Thermopyla3  and  the  field  of  Issus,  where  Alex- 
ander defeated  Darius,  is  quite  remarkable. 

We  gathered  a  few  wild  flowers  from  the  spot,  and  then 
turned  about  for  Lamia.  Some  peasants  came  out  of  their 
cane  huts,  built  on  the  edge  of  the  marsh  ;  and  one  of  them 
handed  me  a  common  copper  coin  of  the  Eastern  Empire, 


240  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

begging  me  to  tell  him  what  it  was.  He  said  that  Ids 
father,  who  had  found  it  when  plowing,  had  been  offeicd 
two  dollars  for  it,  but  had  refused.  "  If  anybody  offers  you 
ten  dollars,"  said  Franyois,  "  don't  sell  it ;  but  hang  it  by  a 
string  around  the  neck  of  your  oldest  boy,  and  it  will  bring 
him  good  luck."  "  What  do  you  mean  by  deceiving  the 
poor  man  hi  that  manner?"  I  asked.  "Oh!"  answered 
my  inveterate  guide,  "  he  is  a  beast ;  if  you  told  him  the 
com  was  worth  ten  lepta  (two  cents),  he  would  be  offended. 
He  wished  to  sell  it  to  you  for  five  dollars :  better  make 
him  happy,  and  save  yourself  from  being  bored,  by  con- 
firming him  in  his  own  stupidity."  With  which  practical, 
but  not  very  commendable  doctrine,  Fran9ois  lighted  a 
fresh  cigar. 

We  crossed  the  Spercheios  on  a  high  Venetian  bridge ; 
and,  after  passing  the  marsh,  which  was  a  wilderness  of 
the  pink  and  white  spiraea,  in  full  bloom,  rode  on  ovei 
level  grain-fields  to  Lamia.  This  town  has  been  compared 
to  Athens,  and  there  is,  in  fact,  considerable  resemblance 
between  the  two  places.  The  Acropolis  is  very  similar  in 
form  and  position ;  and  there  are  even  suggestions  of  the 
Nympheion,  the  Museion,  and  Lycabettus,  between  which 
the  town  occupies  the  same  relative  position.  The  fortress 
on  the  Acropolis  is  Venetian,  but  made  picturesque  by  the 
addition  of  a  Turkish  mosque  and  minaret.  Two  other 
minarets  in  the  town  still  remain;  and  these,  with  the 
camels  which  travel  back  and  forth  from  the  port  of  Stylida, 
called  to  mind  the  Moslem  cities  of  the  Levant. 

On  entering  Lamia,  we  inquired  for  a  khan,  which,  it 
•eems,  the  place  does  not  afford.  While  engaged  hi  seek 


THE    FRONTIER    OF   THESSALY.  241 

ing  lodgings,  we  were  accosted  by  a  soldier,  who  bore  a 
pressing  invitation  from  the  Commander  cf  the  gen- 
tfarmerie,  that  we  should  come  and  take  up  our  quarters 
at  his  house.  I  declined  —  saying  that  we  had  already  found 
rooms  ;  and,  while  we  thanked  the  Commander  for  hia 
courtesy,  would  not  be  obliged  to  trouble  him.  "  Oh  !  but 
he  expects  you,"  said  the  soldier :  "  he  has  been  looking 
for  your  arrival  all  day."  "Then  it  is  a  mistake,"  I 
answered  ;  "  and  he  takes  us  for  somebody  else."  By  the 
time  our  pack  -  horses  were  unloaded,  however,  a  second 
messenger  arrived.  "  The  Commander  begs  that  you  will 
come  immediately  to  his  house,  he  expects  you,  and  has  let- 
ters for  you  from  Athens."  Again  I  asserted  that  there 
was  some  mistake.  "  No,  no,"  said  the  messenger ;  "  you 
are  the  very  ones.  He  received  letters  two  days  ago  about 
you.  He  will  not  accept  any  refusal." 

I  thought  it  barely  possible  that  General  Church,  Mr. 
Hill,  or  some  other  good  friend  in  Athens  might  have 
written  to  Lamia  in  my  behalf,  after  my  departure,  and 
finally  decided  to  accompany  the  messenger.  He  conducted 
us  at  once  to  the  commander's  residence,  a  neat,  comfort- 
able house  on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  and  ushered  us  into  the 
presence  of  Major  Plessos,  who  received  us  with  great 
cordiality.  "  My  friend,  Gen.  Church,"  said  he,  "  has 
written  to  me  announcing  your  arrival,  and  I  am  very 
glad  to  welcome  you  to  my  house."  I  then  remembered 
distinctly  that  Gen.  Church  had  spoken  to  me  of  his  friend 
Plessos,  in  Lamia,  and  had  offered  me  letters  of  introduc- 
tion, which  I  had  neglected  to  bring  with  me.  Presuming, 
therefore,  that  all  was  right,  I  accepted  the  proffered  hospi- 


242  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

tality,  and  sent  Frar^ois  after  the  baggage.  But  I  was 
presently  undeceived.  The  major  handed  me  a  letter 
Baying:  "This  is  for  you  —  it  arrived  several  days  ago!" 
Behold !  it  was  for  Mr.  Gardner,  M.  P.,  who  was  travelling 
somewhere  in  Euboea.  I  at  once  explained  the  mistake, 
and  proposed  to  retreat ;  but  the  friendly  commander  would 
not  hear  of  such  a  thing.  "  1  have  you  now,"  said  he,  "  and 
here  you  shall  stay  until  you  leave  L;imia.  A  friend  of 
Gen.  Church,  and  an  American,  is  always  a  welcome  guest." 

Lieutenant  Mano,  a  nephew  of  Mavrocordato,  joined  us 
at  dinner,  and  in  the  evening  came  in  a  Mainote  captain  — 
a  strikingly  handsome,  agreeable  fellow.  As  they  all  spoke 
French  and  Italian,  we  had  a  very  animated  conversation 
on  the  political  condition  of  Greece.  My  new  acquaintances 
were  enthusiastic  patriots,  as  was  proper;  but  the  admis- 
sions they  made  tended  to  confirm  my  previous  impres- 
sions. Major  Plessos  has  the  task  of  suppressing  brigandage 
on  the  Thessalian  frontier,  which  he  appears  to  have  done 
very  effectually.  The  room  in  which  we  slept  was  hung 
with  trophies  taken  from  the  robbers  —  long  Albanian 
muskets,  ornamented  with  silver,  pistols,  yataghans,  splen 
did  silver  belts,  and  even  richly  -  ornamented  cases  of 
the  pure  metal,  designed  to  contain  a  copy  of  the  New 
Testament !  The  robbers,  you  must  know,  are  gentlemen 
and  Christians  ;  and  although  they  cut  off  the  noses  of 
shepherds,  and  pour  boiling  oil  on  the  breasts  of  women.  1 
have  often  heard  them  spoken  of  by  the  Greeks  with  a 
certain  degree  of  admiration  and  respect. 

After  we  had  got  into  bed,  Fran9ois,  whose  tongue  had 
been  loosened  by  the  Phthiotan  wine,  redder  than  the 


THE    FKONTIER    OF    THESSALY.  24,3 

blood  spilt  at  Thermopylae,  sat  down  upon  a  chest  of  arms, 
and  became  confidential.  The  sight  of  the  glittering 
weapons  suspended  on  the  wall  carried  him  back  to  the 
struggles  for  Grecian  independence,  in  which  he  had  borne 
his  part.  He  had  fought  in  Doris  and  Etolia;  had  taken 
part  in  Fabvier's  unfortunate  expedition  to  Scio;  and  had 
been  for  years  a  captive  in  Stamboul.  "  Ah ! "  said  he, 
with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  crossed  yataghans,  "  we  came 
over  ground  to-day  that  I  know  but  too  well !  I  fought 
the  Turks,  many  a  day,  on  those  hills,  as  you  go  from 
Gravia  towards  the  ruins  of  Orchomenos.  We  had  a  little 
battery — three  guns  only — but  it  annoyed  the  Turks  very 
much ;  and  they  made  a  desperate  struggle  to  get  hold  of 
it.  Out  of  two  hundred  men,  I  don't  believe  we  had  sixty 
left.  They  wouldn't  have  taken  it,  after  all,  if  we  had  not 
lost  our  captain  He  was  a  mountaineer  from  Acarnania, 
one  of  the  handsomest  men  you  ever  saw ;  tall,  with  a  head 
and  shoulders  like  a  lion,  blue  eyes,  and  a  magnificmt 
beard,  as  blonde  as  a  Muscovite's.  We  were  working  the 
guns  with  all  our  might,  for  the  Turks  were  coming  down 
upon  us.  He  sprang  upon  a  parapet  to  give  orders,  and  1 
was  leaning  back,  looking  at  him,  and  waiting  for  the  word 
His  sword-arm  was  stretched  out,  his  eyes  flashing,  and  ln- 
rnouth  opened  to  shout — when,  all  at  once,  I  saw  his  forehead 
break  in.  He  did  not  waver,  his  arm  was  still  stretched ; 
but  instead  of  words,  a  sound  like  '  Zt — zatf — zztf*  cane 
from  his  mouth.  Then  his  knees  suddenly  bent,  and  he  felJ 
down,  stone-dead.  We  fought  like  devils ;  but  each  man 
for  himself,  after  that — no  command  anywhere — and  thr 
Turks  got  the  battery." 


244  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

*  Were  you  wounded  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Not  then,  but  a  few  days  afterwards.  I  escaped,  picked 
np  a  horse,  and  joined  a  body  of  lancers.  We  kept  up  a 
sort  of  guerilla  warfare  about  the  plains  of  Qrchomenos, 
avoiding  large  bodies  of  the  enemy.  But  one  day  the 
Turkish  cavalry  surprised  us.  When  a  man  is  desperate, 
ho  loses  his  wits ;  and  I  have  not  much  recollection  of 
what  followed.  There  was  dust,  there  were  sabres,  pistol- 
shots,  yells,  and  mad  riding.  I  tumbled  a  Turk  off  his 
horse  with  my  last  pistol,  and  threw  it  at  the  head  of 
another  who  rode  full  tilt  upon  me.  Then  my  own  horse 
jumped,  and  I  lost  my  senses.  When  I  opened  my  eyes,  it 
was  dark  night.  I  was  in  a  hut,  on  my  back,  and  a  woman 
Bat  beside  me.  It  was  a  peasant's  wife,  whom  I  knew ;  but 
I  could  not  imagine  what  I  was  doing  there.  I  tried  to 
rise,  but  felt  as  if  every  bone  in  my  body  was  broken. 
'  Where  am  I  ?  What 's  the  matter  ? '  I  asked.  *  Oh,'  she 
cried,  *  we  are  beaten ! '  Then  I  remembered  all.  I  had 
a  bad  lance  wound  in  my  leg,  and  was  dreadfully  bruised, 
but  knew  that  I  was  not  going  to  die.  '  Where  are 
the  others  ?  '  I  asked.  '  Where  is  Giorgios  ?  Where  is 
Constantinos  ?  Where  is  Spiridion  ?  '  She  only  clasped  her 
hands  and  cried  aloud,  and  I  knew  that  they  were  dead.  I 
got  well  after  awhile,  but  saw  no  more  service  until  I 
joined  Fabvier.  Ah,  Dieu !  to  think  of  the  blood  we  shed 
—  and  what  has  come  of  it  ?  "  Thereupon  Fra^ois  re- 
lapsed into  a  fit  of  melancholy  musing  —  pending  which  I 
fell  asleep. 

In  tLe  morning,  the  Major  proposed  riding  to  the  summit 
of  Othrys,  in  order  to  look  upon  the  plains  of  Thessaly 


THE    FRONTIER    OF   THES8ALT.  245 

but  the  weather  was  so  calm  that  I  feared  we  would  be 
delayed  in  crossing  to  EutxBa,  and  reluctantly  gave  orders 
to  proceed  to  the  port  of  Stylida.  After  breakfast  we  set 
out,  accompanied  by  the  Major  and  Lieut.  Mano  for  the 
first  few  miles.  A  carriage  -  road  to  Stylida  has  been  com- 
menced, and  is  about  half  finished  :  200,000  drachmas 
($33,000)  have  also  been  raised  for  a  road  across  the  marsh 
to  Thermopylae  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  get  laborers. 

Stylida,  the  port  of  Lamia,  ten  miles  distant,  is  a  pictu- 
resque, pleasant  little  place.  Our  first  business,  on  arriving, 
was  to  secure  a  boat,  and  we  were  not  long  in  finding  one, 
It  was  a  solidly  built  sloop,  about  thirty  feet  long,  which 
had  just  arrived  from  one  of  the  outer  islands,  with  a  load 
of  maize,  brought  to  Stylida,  to  be  ground  ;  after  which, 
it  wonld  be  taken  back  as  flour.  Ajax  and  Themistocles, 
who,  at  first,  positively  refused  to  cross  with  their  horses, 
preferring  to  give  up  the  remainder  of  the  contract,  and 
return  home,  now  declared  that  they  would  go  with  us. 
We  were  obliged  to  wait  until  evening  for  the  land  -  breeze, 
and  in  the  meantime  furnished  some  entertainment  to  the 
good  people  of  the  town,  who  inspected  us  during  the 
afternoon  with  a  friendly  curiosity. 

The  sloop  was  decked  fore  -  and  -  aft,  but  there  was  an 
opening  in  the  hold,  midships,  about  six  by  eight  feet  in 
dimensions,  and  into  this  place  all  our  five  horses  were 
stowed.  They  were  gotten  aboard  without  a  great  deal 
of  trouble,  a  little  frightened  but  submissive.  As  there 
was  a  dead  calm,  the  captain's  two  boys  towed  us  out  of 
the  harbor  in  a  little  boat.  Braisted  and  I  crept  into  the 
-  hold,  a  hot,  cramped  place,  where  we  lay  until  nearly 


246  TRAVELS    IX    GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

suffocated  ;  then  went  on  deck,  smoked,  and  watched  th» 
sails  for  an  hour,  and  finally,  turned  in  at  midnight  to  sleep. 
The  night  was  quiet,  with  an  occasional  puff  from  the 
land.  Towards  morning,  the  captain  anchored  under  an 
island  off  the  extreme  north-western  point  of  Eubcea, 
•vhence  at  dawn  he  rowed  to  the  beach,  where  we  anchored 
broadside  on.  At  sunrise,  we  commenced  discharging  the 
cargo,  which  was  a  work  of  some  difficulty ;  but  by  dint 
of  patience,  main  force,  and  the  whip,  the  horses  were,  one 
after  another,  made  to  rear,  plunge  over  the  sloop's  side, 
and  take  to  the  shore.  The  first  one  cleared  the  gunwale 
in  good  style,  but  all  the  others  caught  with  their  hind  legs, 
and  were  thrown  headlong  into  the  water.  The  poor  beasts 
were  rejoiced  to  get  upon  firm  earth  again ;  nor  were  we 
less  so,  for  we  were  all  tired  and  hungry.  But  we  wert 
now  upon  Euboea — the  Negropont  of  the  Middle  Ages — 
tiho  largest  of  the  Grecian  isles. 


CHAP1  ER    XXII. 

ADVENTURES      IN      E  U  B  <E  A  . 

OK  landing  in  Eubcea,  our  first  care  was  to  find  food  and 
rest  Taking  the  first  donkey  -  path,  over  fields  and  through 
mastic  thickets,  we  reached,  in  about  an  hour,  a  scattering 
village,  high  up  on  the  side  of  the  mountain.  The  approach 
to  it  was  through  lanes  of  pomegranate  -  trees.  Streams  of 
wate r  gushed  down  the  hill  -  side,  fertilizing  wherever  they 
touched  ;  and  the  vegetation  was  not  only  more  luxuriant, 
but  further  advanced  thau  that  of  the  mainland.  Just 
above  the  village  there  was  a  magnificent  fountain  of  water, 
in  a  grove  of  enormous  plane  -  trees.  Two  of  the  trunks 
which  Braisted  measured,  were  twenty  -  eight  and  a  half 
and  thirty-five  feet  in  circumference.  It  was  a  fresh,  lovely 
spot,  full  of  broken  light  and  shade,  and  musical  with  the 
sound  of  falling  water  and  the  singing  of  nightingales  in 
the  pomegranate  thicket?.  After  resting  two  hours  (during 
which  I  made  a  sketch  of  the  place),  we  breakfasted,  and 
then  started  for  Edipsos,  five  hours  distant. 

The  day  was  fair,  hot,  and  with  a  sultry  haze  in  the  air 


248  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

After  ascending  the  steep  ridge  of  the  mountain  which 
forms  this  corner  of  Euboea,  we  had  a  long  and  rugged 
descent  on  the  northern  side,  overlooking  a  splendid  pano- 
rama of  the  Artemisian  strait,  the  mountains  of  Thessaly, 
and  the  snowy  peak  of  Pelion  in  the  background.  The 
path  was  lined  with  clumps  of  myrtle,  mastic,  laurel,  and 
other  glossy  and  fragrant  trees  ;  while  flowers  of  all  hues 
spangled  the  banks. 

Edipsos  is  a  most  picturesque  village,  at  the  base  of  a 
lofty  mountain,  from  the  cleft  gorges  of  which  issues  a  fine 
stream.  Channels  of  swift,  clear  water  traverse  the  place; 
and  the  houses  are  embowered  in  mulberry  and  fruit  trees. 
In  the  centre  of  the  village  is  an  immense  plane  -  tree,  the 
trunk  of  which  is  encircled  by  a  bench  for  summer  loungers. 
We  found  good  lodgings  in  the  house  of  the  schoolmaster. 
A  gend'arme,  who  persisted  in  talking  Greek  to  me, 
informed  me  that  there  are  a  number  of  fine  mineral  springs 
up  the  glen.  Bottles  of  the  water,  sent  to  Germany  to  be 
analysed,  were  found  to  contain  highly  medicinal  properties. 

The  next  morning,  we  rode  across  the  hills  to  the  splen- 
did plain  of  Xirochori,  the  rich  northern  extremity  of 
Euboea.  The  whole  Artemisian  strait,  and  the  island  of 
Skiathos,  in  the  JEgean,  were  visible.  The  valley  and  vil- 
lage of  Agios  Joannes,  into  which  we  descended,  are  the 
property  of  M.  Mitnot,  a  French  gentleman,  whose  mansion, 
surrounded  with  orchards,  occupies  a  commanding  situation 
on  one  of  the  lower  hills.  Here  we  had  a  slight  evidence 
of  what  may  be  done  in  Greece  by  the  exercise  of  a  little 
knowledge  and  industry.  Stone  walls  or  neat  wooden 
fences  bordered  the  road  ;  orchards  of  thrifty  olive-trees 


ADVENTURES    IN    KUBfEA.  249 

grafted  on  vhe  wild  stock,  covered  the  hills,  and  the  village, 
in  its  neatness,  comfort,  and  the  tidy,  prosperous  air  of  its 
inhabitants,  seemed  to  be  Swiss  rather  than  Greek.  A 
number  of  the  European  Philhellenes  settled  in  Euboea  after 
the  independence  of  Greece  had  been  acknowledged.  The 
rich  Turkish  proprietors  were  allowed  a  few  years  to  dis- 
pose of  their  estates  ;  and,  when  the  time  drew  to  an  end, 
were  forced  to  sell  out  for  a  mere  song,  on  account  of  the 
scarcity  of  purchasers.  Thus,  tracts  comprising  from  five 
to  ten  square  miles  of  the  richest  land  were  sold  at  prices 
ranging  from  $5,000  to  $10,000.  Under  the  present  misera- 
ble administration  of  government,  these  purchases  are  not 
such  great  bargains  as  might  be  supposed. 

Crossing  the  plain  of  Xirochori,  we  endeavored  to  strike 
the  main  road  leading  thence  down  the  centre  of  the  island 
to  Chalsis  ;  yet  in  this,  the  richest  district  of  Greece,  a 
road  has  never  been  located !  Every  spring,  the  peasants 
plow  up  the  ground,  and  the  horse-path  with  it.  We  wan- 
dered about  two  or  three  hours  before  finding  a  trail,  but 
were  abundantly  repaid  by  the  beauty  of  the  valley  into 
which  it  conducted  us.  The  hills  were  covered  with  noble 
pine-trees.  A  handsome  mansion,  belonging  to  a  rich 
Greek,  stood  on  a  knoll  above  the  stream,  and  an  avenue 
of  young  trees  led  to  a  cheerful  summer-house  on  the 
height,  commanding  a  lovely  view  to  the  r/orthward 
Where  were  we  ?  This  was  not  the  bare,  barren,  savage 
Greece  we  knew  :  it  was  a  warm  dell  in  southern  Germany 
—  the  home  of  ease,  taste,  rest,  and  security.  So  com- 
pletely is  it  in  the  power  of  man  to  transform  the  impres- 
sion of  a  landscape.  The  mansion,  the  avenue,  and  the 


250  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

summer  -  house  banished  from  mind  the  ancient  Euboea,  the 
granary  of  Athens  ;  or,  if  I  remembered  the  fact,  it  was 
but  to  notice  how  easily  classic  associations  are  outweighed 
by  the  amenities  of  modern  life.  But  when  we  reached 
the  summit  of  the  mountain,  and  looked  backward,  there 
stood,  as  if  to  rebuke  us,  not  only  Pelion,  silvered  with 
snow,  guarding  the  gulf  whence  Jason  sailed  with  hia 
young  Argonauts,  but  Ossa  behind  him,  overlooking  the 
Vale  of  Tempe,  and  far,  far  away  —  the  dream  of  a  peak, 
in  the  vapory  slumber  of  the  air,  the  home  of  the  g^Is,  the 
immortal  mountain  —  Olympus  of  Thessaly  ! 

We  now  entered  a  deep,  wide  gorge,  leading  southward 
to  the  Euripean  strait.  Tall,  dark  pines  feathered  the 
mountain  sides  to  the  very  summit,  and  abundant  streams 
ot  water  gushed  down  every  rocky  hollow.  The  road  was 
a  faint  trail,  difficult  to  find,  and  perilous  in  the  extreme. 
In  some  places  it  was  a  mere  thread,  notched  along  the 
face  of  a  precipice,  where  one  slip  would  have  sent  horse 
and  rider  down  the  awful  gulf.  With  each  one  of  these 
dangerous  passes,  the  chances  of  our  safety  seemed  to  di- 
minish ;  and  when,  at  last,  we  reached  a  spot  where  the 
path  was  not  more  than  four  inches  wide,  resting  on  points 
of  rotten  -  looking  rock,  Ajax  and  Themistocles  turned  back 
with  the  pack  animals,  the  intrepid  Fran9ois  dismounted, 
and  the  mare  Erato  stopped  short.  My  nerves  were  in  a 
tingle,  but  the  sensation  was  more  agreeable  than  other- 
wise. Come,  Erato,  said  I,  this  ia  not  much  worse  than 
those  poetical  chasms  over  which  your  divine  namesake 
has  often  carried  me.  Fra^ois  went  first,  leading  Horeas 
of  the  (haggy  mane.  1  did  not  dismount,  but  dropped 


ADVENTURES    IN    EUBCEA.  251 

the  reins  on  Erato's  neck.  As  softly  as  a  cat  stealing  upor 
a  bird,  she  put  out  one  paw,  tried  her  foothold,  then  brac- 
ing herself  upon  it,  brought  forward  the  next  foot  and 
planted  it  in  the  same  way,  and  thus,  inch  by  inch,  crepl 
along.  I  sat  perfectly  still,  keeping  a  just  equilibrium,  and 
looking  at  the  path  ahead — not  for  worlds  into  the  yawning 
gull'.  Millions  of  the  finest  needles  were  sticking  into  the 
pores  of  my  skin ;  but  when  we  reached  the  opposite  side 
they  fell  out  suddenly,  and  I  felt  as  refreshed  as  if  I  had 
bathed  in  a  tub  of  liquid  electricity.  Braisted  followed 
in  the  same  way;  and  after  incredible  labor,  Ajax  and 
Theinistocles  brought  their  horses  around  over  the  rocks. 

For  an  hour  and  a  half  more  we  descended  the  left  side 
of  the  grand  gorge,  which  gradually  contracted  so  as  to 
form  an  impassable  canon.  The  path  was  delightfully 
shaded  with  pines,  ilexes,  oaks,  and  laurels :  and  the  air, 
filled  with  warm  odors  of  scented  leaves  and  the  flowering 
gorse  and  cistus,  was  delicious  to  inhale.  Finally,  we 
reached  the  last  knee  of  the  mountain,  which  commands  a 
wide  prospect  of  the  Eubcean  Gulf  and  the  Locrian  moun- 
tains beyond.  A  long  upland  terrace  lay  before  us,  and 
we  rode  for  an  hour  and  a  half  over  its  wooded  undulations 
without  seeing  any  signs  of  the  port  of  Limni,  our  destinu 
tion.  The  sun  was  setting  in  a  bed  of  threatening  vapors, 
and  we  were  very  tired  and  hungry,  when  at  last  the  path 
led  down  a  ravine  to  some  fields  of  olive-trees  near  the  sea- 
shore. But  there  were  no  signs  of  habitations  :  only  some 
oiles  of  sawed  timber  on  the  beach.  We  followed  the 
windings  of  the  indented  coast  for  nearly  two  hours  longer, 
beforo  we  came  upon  the  wishod-for  haven,  which  is  sntigli 


252  TRAVELS  iv  I;KKK<  K  AND  RUSSIA. 

hidden  away  iu  a  little  triangular  nook  between  two  capes 
In  my  map  (that  of  Berghaus,  published  by  Perthes)  the 
place  was  given  about  four  miles  too  far  to  the  northward 
— which  was  the  only  example  of  inaccuracy  I  found  during 
all  my  journeys  in  Greece.  On  my  return  to  Germany,  I 
pointed  it  out  to  Mr.  Berghaus,  who  made  the  correction 
at  once.  In  all  other  instances,  I  found  his  map  a  miracle 
of  accuracy. 

We  were  famishing,  and  sore  from  eleven  hours  in  the 
saddle,  and  the  appearance  of  the  well-built,  compact  vil- 
lage, with  its  large  houses  fronting  the  beach,  promised 
us  welcome  quarters.  The  people  gathered  about  us  curi- 
ously, for  a  traveller  was  a  rare  sight  there.  There  was 
no  khan  ;  but  we  procured  lodgings  in  the  house  of  the 
richest  inhabitant.  The  mayor  and  other  dignitaries  kept 
my  Greek  in  use,  while  I  enjoyed  a  refreshing  narghileb 
before  dinner. 

In  the  morning,  while  we  were  taking  some  black  coffee, 
I  was  accosted  in  very  bad  English  by  a  young  sailor  of 
the  place,  who  had  made  a  voyage  to  Liverpool  and  thence 
to  Calcutta.  Presently  appeared  a  rough  old  feUow  with 
an  unmistakable  odor  of  salt  about  him,  who  hailed  us 
with :  "  Good  morning !  How  do  you  come  on  ?  Are 
you  Scotchmen  or  Irishmen  ?"  On  hearing  our  reply,  he 
seemed  greatly  surprised  and  delighted.  "  You  Ameri- 
cans !  "Why,  /  am  a  Yankee,  too !"  In  fact  he  had 
served  six  years  in  the  American  Navy,  two  years  of 
which  he  had  spent  at  the  Xorfolk  and  Washington  Navy 
Yards.  "  Ah !"  said  he,  "  that  is  a  great  country :  yor 
don't  see  any  such  piles  of  rock  as  here — ail  plain,  without 


ADVENTURES   IN   EUBCEA.  25! 

Btones,  and  good  for  wheat."  He  was  a  native  of  Limni. 
where  he  had  a  family,  otherwise  he  would  have  gone  home 
with  us,  and  never  returned  to  Greece  again.  "  An  Amen 
can  sailor,"  said  he,  "  is  a  gentleman,  but  the  Greeks  art 
all  liars  and  scamps.  They  are  my  people,  but  I  hate 
'em.» 

The  health-officer  informed  me  that  some  remains  of  the 
ancient  town  of  Argae  still  existed  in  the  village,  and  con 
ducted  us  thither,  followed  by  quite  a  concourse  of  villa- 
gers. We  found  the  foundations  of  a  small  but  very 
handsome  bath  of  the  Roman  time.  The  Mosaic  floors  of 
four  chambers  still  remain  in  a  tolerable  state,  with  some 
fragments  of  stone  and  brick  work,  and  broken  marble 
columns.  By  this  time  our  horses  were  ready,  and  the 
crowds  of  villagers  assembled  to  see  us  off,  our  would-be 
countryman  shaking  hands  and  swearing  in  sailor  fashion, 
as  he  lamented  his  inability  to  accompany  us. 

Our  path  led  up  the  sides  of  rough,  broken  hills  for 
about  an  hour,  when  we  reached  the  summit  ridge  of  the 
island,  and  saw  before  us  the  rich  eastern  valleys,  the 
^Egean,  and  the  scattered  islets  of  the  eparchia  of  Sko- 
pelos.  The  view  was  northern,  in  its  abundance  of  piny 
hills  and  green  intervening  vales ;  but  southern,  almost  tro- 
pical, in  the  hot,  dim,  silvery  atmosphere  in  which  they 
rc  ere  clothed.  It  was  really  inspiring  to  find  such  lovely 
Arcadian  scenery  in  Greece,  and  my  summer  memories  of 
the  forests  of  the  Mysian  Olympus  came  back  vividly  tc 
mind.  The  richness  and  beauty  of  Euboea  would  never  be 
suspected  by  the  rapid  traveller,  who  satisfies  himself  with 
a  view  of  dusty  Attica,  or  the  thirsty  Argolis. 


254  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE    AND   RtJSSIA. 

After  breakfasting  beside  a  picturesque  mill,  in  a  loveh 
little  dell,  we  started  for  the  estate  of  Mr.  Noel,  ac 
English  gentleman,  who  for  twenty  years  has  made  his 
home  in  this  solitude.  Riding  on  through  low  valleys, 
hedged  in  with  forested  hills,  we  soon  saw,  by  the  evident 
iare  with  which  the  young  trees  had  been  protected,  that 
we  were  within  the  boundaries  of  his  domain.  Presently 
we  came  upon  the  track  of  a  cart — a  most  unusual  sight,  in 
Greece.  Following  this,  we  emerged  from  the  woods,  and 
saw  before  us  Mr.  Noel's  mansion,  which  stands  on  a  gentle 
knoll,  commanding  a  superb  view  of  meadow  and  forest- 
land,  sweeping  into  hills  in  the  distance,  and  crowned  by 
the  snowy  summit  of  Pyxario !  We  rode  into  the  court 
and  dismounted,  while  a  servant  went  to  seek  Mr.  Noel, 
who  was  below  in  the  village.  His  son,  a  boy  of  twelve, 
who  spoke  English  with  a  little  hesitation,  showed  us,  in 
the  meanwhile,  a  large  tame  deer,  of  a  species  which  is  still 
quite  abundant  on  the  mountains.  He  was  a  noble  beast, 
much  larger  than  the  ordinary  European  deer,  and  so  com 
pletely  tamed,  that  it  was  difficult  to  keep  him  out  of  the 
house.  While  sitting  in  Mr.  Noel's  library,  in  the  utter- 
noon,  I  was  startled  by  the  thumping  of  his  antlers  on  th 
door.  Having  effected  an  entrance,  he  inarched  deliberately 
around  the  table,  snuffing  at  the  books,  and  finally  seizing 
upon  a  number  of  Galignani,  which  he  would  have  devour, 
etl  in  a  very  literal  sense,  had  he  not  been  ejected  by  main 
force. 

Mr.  Noel  soon  appeared,  leading  with  him  our  baggage- 
horses,  which  he  had  met  on  their  way  to  the  khan.  Tht 
cordiality  of  his  reeepi ;o:i  left  us  no  choice  but  to  stoj 


ADVENTURES    IN   EUBtEA.  251 

there  for  the  night.  While  he  went  off  to  the  forest  to 
superintend  the  lumbermen,  I  improved  the  time  by  making 
a  sketch  of  the  magnificent  landscape.  The  Judas-trees 
gushed  up  like  pink  fountains  among  the  tender  green  of 
the  thickets ;  violets  and  wild  thyme  scented  the  air,  and 
the  bees  hummed  their  sleepy  songs.  The  stream  flowing 
through  the  valley  was  bordered  by  a  double  row  of  enor- 
mous plane-trees,  and  the  distant  mountains,  instead  of 
lifting  their  limestone  crags  naked  in  the  sunshine,  were 
clothed  with  the  cool  robes  of  the  evergreen  pine.  All  the 
landscape,  from  the  unseen  ^Egean,  behind  the  eastern  hill, 
to  the  summit  of  Pyxario,  belonged  to  Mr.  Noel.  He  \\  as 
lord  of  a  princely  domain,  in  a  land  of  immortal  name — yet 
I  commiserated  him.  It  was  a  lonely  life,  among  a  horde 
of  ignorant,  superstitious,  ungrateful  peasants,  under  a 
miserable  government,  where  his  example  availed  nothing, 
and  all  his  attempts  at  improvement  were  frustrated.  I 
confess,  the  sight  of  so  much  cultivation  and  refinement  an 
Mr.  Noel  possessed,  buried  in  such  a  wilderness,  impressed 
me  with  a  feeling  of  melancholy.  Everything  spoke  of 
exile  and  isolation.  His  daughter,  a  sweet  English  rose 
bud,  soon  to  blossom  into  womanhood,  seemed  far  out  of 
place  among  the  t'row/.y  Ariadnes  and  Iphigenias  of  tht 
village,  whose  companionship,  even,  could  not  take  away 
from  her  that  quiet  grace  and  self-possession  which  sin 
inherited  from  the  mother  who  now  sleeps  in  Grecian  soil. 
In  almost  any  other  country  in  the  world,  Mr.  Noel's 
labors  would  have  produced  more  hopeful  results.  Not 
jnly  has  he  built  more  comfortable  houses  for  his  tenantry, 
I'stablished  a  school  for  their  children  free  of  cost,  and  fur- 


256  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

nished  them  with  ample  employment,  but  he  has  also  intro 
duced  better  agricultural  implements,  and  endeavored  to 
teach  them  a  more  rational  system  of  farming.  He  has 
made  a  wagon-road  ten  miles  in  length,  from  the  forests  to 
the  sea-shore,  and  occupies  himself  principally  with  the  fell- 
ng  of  timber,  which  is  shipped  from  his  own  beach  to  Syra 
and  the  other  island  ports.  The  natives,  however,  oul^ 
laugh  at  his  good  advice ;  and  all  that  he  has  done  for 
them  emboldens  them  to  make  new  demands  on  his  gene- 
rosity. He  almost  despairs  of  improving  their  condition 
so  long  as  they  are  under  the  sway  of  a  creed  which  turna 
half  the  days  of  the  year  into  festivals,  and  deprives  them 
of  sufficient  nourishment  during  the  other  half.  Of  all  the 
absurdities  of  Paganism,  there  is  none  quite  so  irrational 
and  injurious  as  these  ordinances  of  the  Eastern  Church. 
A  Greek  Empire  in  the  Orient  is  simply  impossible  while 
they  continue  in  practice. 

It  was  a  great  comfort  to  sleep  in  clean  beds,  and  enjoy 
the  abundant  appliances  of  an  English  toilet.  The  morning 
was  cool  and  gusty,  and  as  we  had  determined  to  reach 
Chalcis,  we  took  leave  of  our  kind  host  immediately  after 
breakfast.  As  the  avenue  of  sycamores  in  the  valley  hid 
from  view  his  mansion,  and  the  noble  landscape  it  com- 
mands, I  repeated  Tasso's  "  bella  eta  del?  oro"  and  sighed 
to  think  how  dreary  life  would  be  in  such  an  Arcadia,  with- 
out the  company  of  congenial  minds  —  but  with  such  a  com- 
pany, what  a  paradise  on  earth  !  How,  far  away  from  tha 
rtorms  and  commotions  in  which  we  live,  within  the  shel- 
tering circle  of  those  purple  hills,  all  pure  tastes  and  simple 
virtues  might  flourish  —  how  the  years  might  pass,  fair  and 


ADVENTURES   IN   EUBCEA.  25V 

soft  as  Grecian  days,  until  death  would  be  unwelcome,  wer« 
it  not  for  the  resignation  which  such  peace  would  breed ! 

O  Zimmerman !  thou  sentimental  imposter !  O  solitude  1 
thou  immortal  humbug !  It  is  very  fine  to  talk  of  commu 
nion  with  Nature  when  you  have  a  home  and  family,  books 
horses,  and  amusements  to  fall  back  upon:  but  Nature, 
without  Man,  is  a  sorry  teacher.  Four  years  more  of  soli- 
tude would  have  made  Selkirk  a  brute  or  an  idiot,  and 
even  your  Plato  would  go  a  long  way  on  the  same  down- 
ward road.  What  are  the  lonely  shepherds  on  Alpine 
heights  ?  What  were  the  anchorites  of  the  early  Christian 
ages  ?  No !  better  a  .garret  in  the  Five  Points  than  a  cave 
in  the  Theban  Desert. 

Our  road  was  a  beautiful  shaded  path,  following  the 
stream  to  its  source  in  the  mountains,  whence  we  climbed 
the  spinal  ridge  of  the  island — a  cold,  windy  region,  over- 
grown with  pines.  From  the  summit  we  saw,  shimmering 
in  the  distance,  the  wheat-plains  of  Chalcis,  and  far  to  the 
south-east  the  snowy  wedge  of  Mount  Delphi,  which  is 
between  five  and  six  thousand  feet  in  height.  The  descent 
occupied  two  hours,  and  tlin  afternoon  was  far  advanced 
before  we  caught  sight  of  the  yellow  walls  and  white  mina- 
rets of  the  city.  Our  wanderings  in  Eubffla  were  now  at 
an  enl,  and  a  distance  of  only  fifty  miles  separated  us  from 
our  home  in  Athens. 

The  afternoon  and  evening  were  intensely  hot.  We 
clattered  through  the  stony  streets,  in  the  full  glare  of  the 
sun.  and  finally  found  a  sort  of  hotel,  kept  mainly  for  th« 
accommodation  of  the  officers  in  the  fortress.  Here  Ave 
obtained  a  room,  and  in  the  course  of  time  a  dinner,  con 


258  TRAVEIS   IN   GREECE  AND  RUSSIA. 

nsting  oi  beefsteaks  and  English  ale — smoked  a  narghileb 
on  the  quay  among  a  lot  of  dirty  sailors,  watched  the  fune 
ral  of  a  soldier  from  the  windows — tried  to  write,  and  gave 
it  up  on  account  of  the  heat,  and  finally  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Chalcis  was  the  dullest  and  stupidest  town  in 
all  Greece.  The  three  Mohammedan  mosques,  however, 
were  some  relief  to  the  eye.  This,  we  believe,  is  the  only 
place  in  the  kingdom  where  a  residence  is  permitted  to  the 
Turks.  The  only  incident  which  occurred  during  our  stay 
was  the  visit  of  a  Greek,  having  in  charge  the  horses  of  an 
English  traveller,  who  had  sailed  from  Sunium  for  the 
southern  end  of  Euboea  ten  days  before,  and  had  not  been 
heard  from.  The  man  was  in  great  distress — because,  if 
the  Englishman  had  been  lost,  he  would  be  obliged  to  pay 
for  the  keep  of  his  horses.  We  could  give  him  no  conso- 
lation, but  we  were  glad  to  learn,  a  week  afterwards,  that 
the  traveller  finally  turned  up. 

Starting  the  next  morning  bright  and  early,  we  crossed 
the  Euripean  Strait  by  a  new  drawbridge,  over  which  all 
Greece  rejoices,  as  it  is  almost  the  only  public  work  which 
the  government  has  accomplished.  It  had  been  solemnly 
inaugurated  by  the  king  and  queen  two  months  previous — 
on  which  occasion  their  majesties  fared  no  better  than  per 
sous  of  common  clay.  A  storm  came  on,  the  house  hi 
which  they  were  lodged  took  fire,  they  were  obliged  to 
sleep  in  rooms  half  full  of  drifted  snow,  and  even  the 
queen's  wet  robes  of  ceremony  were  ironed  dry  without 
being  taken  off  her  royal  person  !  This  memorable  bridge 
once  passed,  we  were  on  tin*  mainland  again,  and  in  half  an 
hour  rode  along  the  strand  of — Aulis !  Yes,  this  little  bay 


ADVENTURES    IN    EITBCEA.  259 

this  stony  hill,  these  fe\v  blocks  of  hewn  limestone,  gnawed 
by  the  teeth  of  three  thousand  years,  witnessed  the  assem 
blage  of  the  armament  destined  for  Troy — that  is,  provided 
Mich  a  thing  ever  took  place.  At  any  rate,  this  is  Aulis, 
the  golden,  the  Homeric  name — a  trumpet-word  in  Grecian 
sung. 

Trotting  rapidly  onwards  three  hours  over  rich  plains 
of  wheat,  three  more  over  hills  and  hollows,  spotted  with 
plane-trees  and  huge  Bo3otian  oaks,  and  two  more  over 
stony,  broken  heights,  we  at  last  reached  the  northern  side 
of  Parnes,  beyond  whose  pines  lay  Attica,  now  almost  as 
much  a  home  to  us  as  it  was  to  1'isistratus  and  Solon.  The 
baggage,  guarded  by  Ajax  and  Themistocles,  was  far 
behind ;  our  three  horses,  Erato,  Boreas,  and  Chiron,  were 
pretty  well  spent,  but  tive  or  six  hours  more  would  bring 
us  to  Athens,  and  we  still  cheered  them  on.  We  received 
news  on  the  way  that  the  robber-chief,  Kalabaliki,  the 
terror  of  northern  Greece,  had  just  been  captured  near 
Thebes  and  his  baud  broken  up.  On  the  top  of  Parnes  we 
were  joined  by  three  soldiers,  who  were  lounging  in  the 
rear,  when  three  armed  men  suddenly  emerged  from  a 
thicket.  I  did  not  for  a  moment  doubt  that  they  were 
members  of  Kalabaliki's  baud :  we  confronted  them  boldly, 
and  passed,  and  as  the  soldiers  came  into  view,  they 
retreated  again  into  the  woods.  A  little  before  sunset  we 
emerged  from  the  forest,  and  saw  the  plain  of  Attica 
stretching  away  before  us  until  it  was  blended  with  the 
^Egean  bea  in  the  distance.  The  turf,  on  the  upper  slopes 
of  the  mountain  around  us,  was  as  green  as  in  Switzerland; 
clumps  of  pine  were  sprinkled  over  the  knolls,  and  thu 


260  TRAVELS   IX   GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

fresh  northern  foreground  gave  an  exquisite  charm  to  the 
glorious  landscape,  painted  with  the  purple  and  violet  tints 
of  the  Grecian  air.  Far  away — a  golden  speck  against  thi 
«ky — rose  the  Acropolis,  beckoning  us  on. 

And  on  we  went.  Down  to  the  plain,  spurring  the 
exhausted  horses,  while  the  sunset  waned  away.  Past 
dusty  villages,  past  dark  wheat-fields,  dim  olive  groves  and 
vineyards,  fragrant  with  the  newly-stirred  earth,  until  we 
reached  the  well-known  houses  of  Patissia.  Then  th« 
horses  knew  where  we  were,  and  resigned  themselves  tc 
the  task.  In  half  an  hour  more,  just  as  the  moon  rose 
behind  Hymettus,  and  struck  in  gleaming  sparkles  on  the 
scarred  pillars  of  the  Parthenon,  we  jumped  from  our  sad- 
dles at  the  door  of  the  House  of  Vitalis,  thus  terminating 
the  ride  through  Northern  Greece. 

Ajax  and  Themistocles  made  their  appearance  towards 
noon  the  next  day — the  former  having  been  seized  by  the 
valiant  guard  on  Mount  Parnes,  and  detained  all  night  on 
e  ispicion  of  being  a  robber. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

PEOPLE    AND    GOVERNMENT. 

Acarnania,  Etolia,  and  some  of  the  Cyclades,  I  had 
now  visited  all  parts  of  Modern  Greece,  and,  so  far  as  per- 
sonal observation  and  inquiry  might  accomplish  in  the  space 
of  four  months,  considered  myself  tolerably  familiar  with 
the  condition  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants.  In  sum- 
ming up  my  impressions  and  throwing  them  together  in 
the  form  of  a  general  statement,  I  shall  endeavor  to  be  just, 
believing  myself  to  be  unprejudiced.  I  have  lately  looked 
over  several  recent  works  on  Greece,  and  have  been  sur 
prised  to  find  so  much  of  a  partisan  spirit  in  them — as  ir 
the  position  and  character  of  Greece  and  the  Greeks  were 
a  question  to  be  debated  rather  than  a  picture  to  be  drawn 
One  author  is  too  favorable,  another  too  severe,  and  I  fore 
see  that,  inasmuch  as  my  path  lies  between  the  two  ex 
tremes,  I  shall  be,  to  some  extent,  discredited  by  both 
sides. 

The  fact  is,  a  few  deeds  of  splendid  heroism  have  throwr 
a  deceitful  halo  over  the  darker  fi'.-itmvs  of  the  Greek  War 


262  TRAVELS    IX    GREECE    AXD    RUSSIA. 

of  Independence,  and  most  of  those  who  bend  in  reverence 
to  the  name  of  Marco  Bozzaris  do  not  know  that  his  uncle 
Nothi  stole  supplies  from  his  own  troops  to  sell  to  the 
Turks — that,  while  Canaris  and  Miaulis  were  brave  and  in- 
corruptible, Colocotroni  filled  his  purse  and  made  cowards 
of  his  men — that,  while  Karaiskakis  was  honorable,  others 
broke  the  most  solemn  oaths  of  their  religion,  and  murdered 
the  captives  they  had  sworn  to  spare.  One  can  say  that 
the  Greeks  are  what  the  Turks  made  them — that  we  should 
not  expect  to  find  in  slaves  the  virtues  of  freemen ;  bill 
treachery  and  perjury  were  never  characteristics  of  the 
Moslem.  It  is  the  corrupt  leaven  of  the  Lower  Empire 
which  still  ferments  in  the  veins  of  this  mixed  race.  I  have 
already  said,  and  I  repeat  it,  that  not  one-fifth  of  the  pre- 
sent population  can  with  justice  be  called  Greeks.  The 
remainder  are  Slavonians,  Albanians,  and  Turks,  with  a 
slight  infusion  of  Venetian  blood.  Only  in  Maina,  on  the 
slopes  of  Parnassus  and  in  parts  of  Doris,  did  I  find  the 
ancient  type  in  any  considerable  amount.  In  the  war,  the 
Albanian  blood — the  Suliotes,  Hydriotes,  and  Spetziotes — 
achieved  the  greatest  distinction. 

Owing  to  this  admixture — when  not  always  of  race,  yet 
.still  of  character  and  association — there  is  a  great  diversity 
in  the  nature  of  the  modern  Greeks,  and  their  number  is 
still  so  small  that  one  must  be  cautious  in  stating  general 
characteristics.  Some  features  of  the  ancient  race  are  still 
preserved  :  they  are  vain,  talkative,  fond  of  argument,  and 
fond  of  display.  Their  appreciation  of  Art,  however,  haa 
utterly  perished.  Most  of  ttu-ni  jiroli >^  a  leaning  toward.* 
democratic  principles,  y<t  tin  \  are  pleased  as  children  at 


PEOPLE    AM)    GOVERNMENT.  26S 

the  tawdry  pomp  whicL  surrounds  a  throne.  They  are 
passionately  fond  of  gain,  yet,  with  the  most  elastic  tem- 
perament hi  the  world,  dislike  manual  labor.  One  of  their 
best  general  traits  is  their  eagerness  to  learn,  but,  unfortu 
nately,  it  ceases  as  soon  as  they  are  capable  of  obtaining  an 
office  under  government.  Official  corruption  is  as  preva- 
lent in  Greece  as — as — as  in  the  United  States,  but  there  is 
not  the  same  means  of  preventing  it  in  the  former  country. 
There  is  not  an  honest  society  sufficiently  large  to  brand  the 
genteel  pickpockets,  and  so  the  great  bulk  of  the  popula- 
tion are  in  no  better  condition  than  the  Christian  subjects 
of  the  Sultan,  while  a  horde  of  leeches,  military,  naval,  and 
civil,  thrive  and  fatten  upon  them.  More  than  one  promi- 
nent man  hi  Athens,  with  whom  I  conversed  on  the  state 
of  the  country,  said  to  me:  "We  want  more  people. 
What  can  we  do  with  a  million  of  inhabitants  ?"  Yet  at 
this  moment  numbers  of  Greeks  are  emigrating  from  Acar- 
nania  into  Turkey !  There  might  have  been,  long  ago,  a 
considerable  influx  of  German  emigrants,  yet  the  Govern 
ment  refused  to  permit  it. 

The  Greeks  have  three  leading  virtues,  which,  alone, 
form  a  basis  of  good  almost  sufficient  to  redeem  them. 
They  are  remarkably  chaste,  for  a  southern  race ;  they  are 
probably  the  most  temperate  people  in  the  world ;  and 
they  are  most  unselfish  and  devoted  in  their  family  rela- 
tions. Their  vanity,  also,  while  it  retards  their  progress  in 
many  respects,  is  a  chord  which  may  nevertheless  be  touched 
to  their  advantage.  Being  very  sensitive  to  the  judgment 
pronounced  upon  them  by  others,  they  sometimes  become 
better  for  the  sake  of  being  thought  better.  Hence,  no- 


264  TBAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

thing  injures  them  so  much  as  injudicious  praise?  I  know 
•  family  who  have  acted  on  this  principle  iu  their  treat- 
ment of  servants,  and  their  confidence  has  never  been 
abused.  In  this  case,  however,  an  unfavorable  sentence 
would  have  been  a  lasting  misfortune,  and  the  incitement 
to  honesty  was  proportionately  greater.  Some  Greek  ser- 
vants, I  have  reason  to  know,  are  great  scamps,  and  tho 
reputation  of  the  whole  class  is  none  of  the  be.-t.  The 
honesty  of  the  country  Greeks,  I  think,  is  quite  up  to  the 
average  of  people  in  their  condition — in  fact,  I  am  not  sure 
that  they  do  not  deserve  credit  for  not  being  worse,  seeing 
that  the  most  outrageous  arts  of  cheating  are  taught  them 
by  those  above  them. 

For  instance,  the  agriculturist  is  not  taxed  by  assessment 
upon  the  value  of  his  property,  but  by  a  tithe  of  what  his 
land  produces.  The  abominable  Turkish  system  preva  Is 
of  farming  out  the  entire  tithes  of  the  country  to  a  pack  of 
contractors,  who  pay  a  certain  sum  to  the  Government,  and 
then  make  the  most  of  their  bargain.  In  measuring  the 
grain,  the  law  requires  that  it  shall  be  poured  lightly  into 
the  measure,  and  the  top  scraped  off  level,  but  the  con- 
tractors are  in  the  habit  of  shaking  and  settling  it  repeatedly, 
and  then  heaping  the  mea-ure.  This  is  ou'y  one  example 
of  their  practices,  and  the  tithes  are  only  one  form  in  which 
the  people  are  taxed.  Frequently  there  are  .-pecial  taxes 
levied  for  special  objects.  The  money  is  always  collected, 
a?id  that  is  the  last  of  it.  Even  the  sum  contributed  by 
Government  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  at  Corinth  melted 
away  in  passing  through  different  hands,  until  less  than  the 
half  of  it  reached  its  destination. 


PEOPLE      AND     GOVERNMENT.  265 

The  Greeks  are  patriotic  enough  in  principle,  but  in 
practice  no  enemy  could  injure  Greece  more  than  they  do. 
There  is  not  one  who  does  not  see  the  abuses  under  which 
the  land  is  groaning,  but  I  have  yet  to  find  the  first  man 
actively  opposed  to  these  abuses.  One  hears  only  such 
I  iiiu-iits  as  these:  "What  can  \ve  do  with  such  narrov 
nieans?  We  are  not  responsible  for  our  condition.  Tin- 
(iivat  Powers  took  away  from  us  Crete,  Chios,  Epirus,  and 
Tliessaly,  to  which  we  were  justly  entitled,  and  which 
would  have  given  the  basis  for  a  strong  and  successful 
kingdom.  We  are  hopelessly  weak,  and  more  could  not  be 
expected  of  us."  But  when  I  have  said  in  reply :  "  If  you 
do  not  achieve  the  most  possible  with  the  resources  you 
have,  you  will  never  be  in  a  situation  to  command  greater 
resources.  You  talk  of  poverty,  yet  spend  more  upon  your 
Court,  proportionately,  than  any  country  in  Europe.  Your 
revenues  are  large  enough,  if  properly  applied,  not  only  to 
meet  all  really  necessary  expenditures,  but  to  open  means 
of  communication  for  the  want  of  which  the  industry  of 
your  country  languishes." — I  have  more  than  once  heard 
the  feeble  plea:  "Our  Court  must  be  suitably  kept  up 
There  cannot  be  a  throne  without  a  large  expenditure 
\Ve  Greeks  are  democratic,  but  the  Great  Powers  gave  u> 
a  throne,  and  since  we  have  accepted  it,  the  country  would 
be  disgraced  if  the  usual  accessories  of  a  throne  were 
wanting." 

The  Royal  Palace  at  Athens  cost  two  millions  of  dollars. 
For  this  sum  the  Greeks  have  an  immense,  ugly  pile  of 
Peutelican  marble,  as  large  as  Buckingham,  or  the  Resident 
at  Berlin.  One  fourth  of  the  mouev  would  have  built  a 


266  TRAVELS     IN     GREECE     AND     RUSSIA. 

beautiful  structure,  proportioned  to  the  size  and  means  of 
the  country.  The  King  has  a  salary  of  one  million  of 
drachmas  ($166,666)  per  annum,  which,  to  his  credit,  he 
spends  in  and  about  Athens.  The  Court  alone  swallows  up 
about  one-twelfth  of  the  entire  revenues.  Then  there  is  a 
list  of  salaried  and  pensioned  officials — civil,  military,  and 
naval — such  as  no  country  in  Europe,  relatively,  exhibits. 
In  the  Navy  there  is  just  about  one  officer  to  every  two- 
and-a-half  men;  in  the  Army,  which  numbers  9,000,  all 
told,  there  are  no  less  than  seventy  generals  !  The  revenues 
of  the  country  amount  to  something  more  than  $3,000,000 
annually,  which,  for  a  population  of  1,000,000,  is  a  sum 
sufficient  not  only  for  the  machinery  of  Government,  but 
the  rapid  development  of  the  present  neglected  resources; 
yet  it  is  easy  to  sec  how,  between  useless  expenditure  and 
official  venality,  the  whole  of  it  is  swallowed  up.  Norway, 
with  a  smaller  revenue  and  a  larger  population,  supports 
her  roads,  schools,  colleges,  steamship  lines,  army,  navy, 
and  police,  and  keeps  out  of  debt. 

The  absurd  jealousy  of  the  Greeks  tends  still  further  to 
retard  anything  like  Progress.  There  might  have  been  a 
large  immigration  of  German  farmers  to  the  uncultivated 
lands  of  the  Isthmus  and  Morea,  but  no!  the  pure  Hellenic 
stock  must  not  be  corrupted  by  foreign  grafts.  The  first 
thing  the  Legislative  Assembly  did,  after  Greece  received 
a  Constitution,  was  to  pa>s  n  law,  depriving  all  heteroch- 
thones  (Greeks  horn  in  Crete!,  Chios,  Constantinople,  or 
anywhere  outside  the  limits  of  the  present  kingdom)  of 
equal  civil  rights.  Yet  the  greatest  private  benefactors  of 
— Arsakis,  Rhi/ari,  Sina,  and  others,  \vho  have 


PEOPLE   AND    GOVERNMENT.  267 

founded  or  supported  her  institutions  of  learning,  science, 
and  charity  —  are  heterochthones !  This  shameful  law  has 
since  been  repealed,  but  the  same  selfish  policy  prevails, 
and  instead  of  making  Greece  a  rallying  point  for  the  pride 
and  national  feeling  of  the  entire  Hellenic  race,  the  result 
has  been  to  alienate  its  scattered  fragments.  The  Greeks 
dream  of  a  restoration  of  the  Byzantine  Empire,  rather 
than  of.  the  ancient  republics  or  confederacies.  They  are 
itching  to  grasp  Thessaly  and  Macedonia.  Constantinople, 
more  or  less  distant,  lies  in  the  plans  and  hopes  of  every 
Greek  —  and  they  will  never  get  it. 

Some  travellers  point  to  the  Constitution  of  Greece,  and 
by  enumerating  a  few  sounding  features,  such  as  suffrage, 
free  speech,  a  free  press,  religious  liberty,  education,  &<%, 
give  the  impression  that  the  Government  is  strongly  Demo- 
cratic in  its  character.  But  the  fact  is,  the  King  does 
not  understand  a  representative  government  —  he  does  not 
even  comprehend  its  first  principles  ;  and  ever  since  he  was 
compelled  to  sign  away  a  portion  of  his  power,  at  the 
cannon's  mouth,  his  whole  study  has  been  to  recover  it 
again.  Thanks  to  the  facilities  afforded  him  by  the  Consti- 
tution itself,  he  has  succeeded.  The  Senate  is  not  only 
named  by  the  King,  but  the  Nomarchs  also,  and  he  has  the 
right  of  choosing  the  Demarche  out  of  the  three  candidates 
'vho  have  the  largest  vote.  One  of  these  three  is  sure  to 
be  in  the  interest  of  the  Court,  and  thus  the  whole  govern- 
ment of  the  country  is  thrown  back  into  his  own  hands. 
A  distinguished  citizen  of  Athens  once  said  to  me:  u  It  is 
Hopeless  to  expect  anything  like  a  just  and  decent  admin- 
istration of  Government  under  the  present  system.  W* 


268  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

once,  here  in  Athens,  after  great  labor,  *nd  not  H  little 
intrigue,  succeeded  in  presenting  three  candidates  for  the 
Detuarchy,  two  of  whom  were  just,  enlightened  men,  of  our 
own  party.  The  third  was  a  stupid  ass,  whom  we  pre- 
vailed upon  the  Court  party  to  select,  believing  it  to  be 
morally  impossible  that  he  would  obtain  the  office.  But  it 
was  all  in  vain  ;  the  King  appointed  the  ass."  During  my 
stay  in  Athens,  a  Court  favorite  was  appointed  to  the  chief 
rank  in  the  Navy,  over  the  head  of  the  venerable  Can  aria, 
whose  name  will  be  remembered  as  long  as  the  world 
honors  a  deed  of  splendid  heroism.  The  true  old  man 
immediately  resigned,  and  sent  back  to  the  King  every 
order  or  token  of  honor  he  had  received  at  the  hands  of 
the  Government. 

It  is  a  wearisome  task  to  wade  through  the  long  list  of 
abuses,  which  are  kept  alive  by  the  indolence  and  apathy, 
no  less  than  the  corruption  of  the  Greeks,  nor  can  I  refer 
to  them  without  the  humiliating  consciousness  that  my  Hel- 
lenic friends  have  the  right  to  ask,  referring  to  our  own 
legislators :  "  Are  you  without  sin,  that  you  should  cast 
stones  at  us  ? "  The  rapid  decline  of  political  morality  at 
home  (I  speak  without  reference  to  party)  makes  every 
honest  American  abroad  blush  with  shame  and  mortification. 

The  avidity  of  the  Greeks  for  learning  has  often  been 
referred  to,  and  justly,  as  one  of  their  most  hopeful  traits. 
It  is  general,  pervading  all  classes,  and  the  ouly  qualifica- 
tion to  be  made  with  regard  to  it  is  that  in  a  great  manj 
instances  it  arises  from  the  desire  of  escaping  manual  labor 
mid  obtaining  the  consideration  which  place  under  govern- 
ment  affords.  Hence  Greece  abounds  with  half-educated 


TEOPLE    AND    GOVERNMENT.  269 

men,  who  cease  their  studies,  satisfied,  at  a  certain  point 
There  have  been  no  scholars  produced  since  the  Liberation 
eqn.il  to  Coray,  or  ^Esopios,  who  still  lives.  The  Kleptic 
songs  are  still  the  best  poetry  of  Modern  Greece.  In  His- 
tory and  Law  something  has  been  done  ;  in  Art,  nothing  at 
all.  Nevertheless,  this  thirst  for  education  promises  well, 
and  to  the  honor  of  the  Greeks  be  it  said  that  the  first 
thing  they  did  on  becoming  free  was  to  make  provision  for 
schools.  At  present  the  total  number  of  scholars  in  the 
kingdom  amounts  to  nearly  forty-five  thousand,  or  about 
one  in  twenty-four.  The  University  of  Athens  is  in  a  very 
flourishing  condition,  the  Arsakeion  (under  the  charge  of 
Madame  Mano,  a  sister  of  Alexander  Mavrocordato)  num- 
bers three  hundred  female  pupils,  and  the  well-known 
school  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill,  nearly  four  hundred.  There 
are  also  excellent  seminaries  at  Syra,  Patras,  Nauplia,  and 
other  places. 

No  persons  have  done  more  for  Free  Greece  than  our 
two  countrymen,  just  named,  and  few  things  pleased  me 
more  during  my  journeys  through  the  country  than  to 
notice  the  deep  and  abiding  gratitude  which  the  Greeks 
feel  for  them.  They  are  now  teaching  the  second  genera- 
tion —  the  children  of  those  they  taught  from  twenty  to  thirty 
years  ago.  I  had  every  opportunity  of  witnessing  the 
plan  and  operations  of  their  school,  and  I  know  of  no  insti 
tution  of  the  kind  which  is  doing  a  better  work.  I  have 
frequently  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  inadequate  and 
unsatisfactory  results  of  American  Missions  in  foreign  lands 
—  results  attributable,  in  many  instances,  to  an  excess  rathoi 
than  a  lack  of  zeal.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill  have  confined  theii 


270  TRAVELS    IN    GREKCE    AND    RUSSIA. 

efforts  to  educating  for  Greece  a  body  of  virtuous,  refined, 
intelligent,  and  pious  wom<jn,  and  they  have  fully  succeeded. 
Proselytism  is  prohibited  by  the  laws  of  Greece,  and  they 
have  not  attempted  it.  They,  then-fore,  enjoy  the  love 
and  confidence  of  the  whole  Greek  people,  and  continue  tc 
plant  the  seeds  of  a  better,  purer,  more  enlightened  life, 
leaving  them  to  ripen  in  their  own  good  time,  and  as  God 
^hall  direct  Dr.  King,  who  has  been  American  Consul  for 
the  last  seven  years,  occupies  himself  principally  with  the 
conversion  of  the  Armenians.  He  lias,  besides,  printed  «» 
great  number  of  Greek  tracts  and  school-books,  some  of 
which  are  extensively  used  in  the  schools  of  the  country. 

The  principal  progress  which  Greece  has  made  since  her 
liberation,  has  been  in  her  commerce.  The  blue  cross  now 
floats,  not  only  in  every  port  in  the  Mediterranean  and 
Black  Seas,  but  in  most  of  the  ports  of  Europe.  The  trade 
carried  on  at  Constantinople  by  Greek  vessels  is  larger  than 
that  of  all  other  nations  combined.  Greek  houses  are  now 
common,  not  only  in  Trieste,  Vienna,  Marseilles,  London, 
Paris,  and  Manchester,  but  are  also  springing  up  in  the 
United  States.  In  spite  of  what  has  been  said  concerning 
the  commercial  dishonesty  of  the  Greek  merchants  in  the 
Orient,  those  who  settle  in  the  Occident  bear,  generally,  as 
good  a  character  as  their  Frank  brethren.  The  race  has  a 
natural  aptitude  for  trade,  and  upon  this  feature  one  might 
also  build  a  hope  for  the  future  of  Greece.  But  what  that 
future  will  be,  we  cannot  even  conjecture.  I  do  not  yet 
believe  that  the  Hellenic  race  will  regenerate  the  Orient 
A  Grecian  Empire,  with  Constantinople  for  its  capital,  is  aa 
far  off  as  the  moon.  Whether  the  present  kingdom  will 


PEOPLE   AND    GOVERNMENT.  271 

continue  to  drag  along  a  weary  existence  as  a  petty  inde- 
pendent power,  or  whether  it  will  ultimately  become  the 
limb  of  a  more  powerful  body,  is  a  matter  upon  which  I 
shall  not  speculate.  It  is  significant,  however,  that  until 
quite  recently,  the  political  factions  in  Greece  bore  the 
name  of  the  English,  Russian,  and  French  parties.  Of 
these  three,  the  Russian  naturally  was  the  strongest. 

As  the  King  and  Queen  are  childless,  the  people  are  in 
great  uncertainty  as  to  their  future  ruler.  According  to 
the  Constitution,  the  next  monarch  must  belong  to  the 
National  Church.  Pnnce  Luitpold  of  Bavaria,  Otho'e 
brother,  has  renounced  his  right  of  succession  rather  than 
change  his  religion.  Adalbert,  the  youngest  brother,  is 
willing  to  comply,  after  he  has  possession  of  the  throne — 
not  before.  But  the  son  of  Luitpold  has  a  prior  claim,  and, 
in  addition,  the  Queen  is  intriguing  with  might  and  main 
to  make  capital  for  her  brother,  the  Protestant  Prince  of 
Oldenburg.  In  all  these  nice  little  plans  and  counter- 
plans,  Greece  is  the  last  thing  thought  of.  The  Queen  is 
thoroughly  selfish,  but  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  she  is 
popular,  and  possesses  considerable  influeirce.  The  King 
is  a  truly  amiable  man,  and  I  believe  desires  to  do  what  he 
can  for  the  good  of  Greece  ;  but  so  long  as  he  lives,  he  will 
never  realize  her  actual  condition  and  necessities.  The  best 
men  of  Greece  at  present — Mavrocordato,  Psyllas,  Argyro- 
poulos,  and  Kajerges — are  not  in  a  position  to  make  their 
influence  felt  as  it  deserves,  and  so  the  country  goes  on  in  a 
blind  way,  heedless  of  the  Future  so  long  as  it  can  bear 
the  weight  of  the  Present  without  Breaking  down. 

I  write  these  things  in  sorrow,  and  wish  that  my  impre» 


272  TRAVELS   IN   GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

eions  were  of  a  more  cheering  character.  I  should  hail  the 
success  of  Greece  with  as  sincere  a  joy  as  any  of  her  citi- 
zens ;  I  should  be  glad  to  know  that  more  of  the  ancient 
olood  and  the  ancient  genius  was  still  extant  —  but  T  must 
not  give  the  reader  what  I  cannot  tind.  Is  there  really  no 
resurrection  of  a  dead  nation?  No  enduring  vitality  in 
those  qualities  of  the  old  race,  which  triumphed  for  a  thou- 
sand year?  i  Cannot  those  "  arts  of  war  and  peace,"  which 
sprang  from  Greece  and  the  Grecian  Isles,  flourish  again  in 
the  arms  of  a  purer  religion  and  a  more  enlightened  law  1 
The  answer  may  be  given  a  century  hence,  but  not  now. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

AGRICULTURE     AND      RESOURCES 

BIIFORE  returning  to  the  North,  a  few  words  must  be  said 
in  regard  to  Greece  as  a  productive  country,  a  subject  con- 
cerning which  the  reader  has  doubtless  heard  very  contrary 
opinions.  The  Greeks  them- elves  are  so  much  in  the  habit 
of  saying,  "  We  have  a  poor  country,"  that  the  flying  tour- 
ist, who  stops  four  days  at  Athens  on  his  way  to  Egypt  and 
Palestine,  and  who  sees  only  the  bald  sides  of  Hymettus  and 
Penlelicus,  and  the  dry  plain  of  Attica,  imagines  the  whole 
country  to  be  barren,  desolate,  cursed  —  as  it  is  customary 
to  represent  Judea.  With  the  exception  of  Acarnania, 
Ktr.lia,  and  parts  of  Euboea,  it  does  indeed  greatly  lack 
water,  but  its  soil  is  probably  as  productive,  in  other 
respects,  as  that  of  any  country  of  Europe.  The  valleys 
»re  a  fine  mellow  loam,  which  produces  excellent  crops  of 
wheat,  rye,  and  barley,  although  the  system  of  agriculture 
is  Homeric  in  its  simplicity  and  rudeness.  The  lower  slopes 
of  the  mountains,  where  they  have  been  reclaimed,  or  have 
nscaped  the  devastation  of  war,  produce  vines,  as  in  Mi»- 


274  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

solonghi,  forests,  as  in  Euboea,  or  grain,  as  in  Maina,  while 
the  sides  of  Parnassus,  Taygetus,  and  Erymanthus  are  cov- 
ered, up  to  the  elevation  of  6,000  feet,  with  woods  of  oak, 
fir,  and  pine 

But  one  thing  fails,  without  which  the  Garden  of  Eden 
itself  would  be  poor  —  the  means  of  transporting  produce 
to  a  market.  All  the  roads  in  the  Peloponnesus,  with 
the  exception  of  that  from  Nauplia  to  Tripolitza,  are  the 
roughest  possible  bridle  -  paths,  crossed  in  many  places  by 
mountain  torrents,  which  frequently  interrupt  the  commu- 
nication for  days.  In  fact,  one  can  hardly  say  that  there 
are  any  roads  at  all  in  spring,  when  the  plow  obliterates 
all  trace  of  the  previous  trail.  In  Northern  Greece  there 
is  but  one,  from  Athens  to  Thebes,  which  is  now  impassa- 
ble, owing  to  fifty  yards  of  it  having  been  washed  away  in 
the  pass  of  CEnoe,  about  six  months  before  my  visit.  From 
Thebes  to  Livadia  there  is  a  bridle -track  over  the  Boeotian 
plain,  which  is  a  quagmire  when  it  rains.  Formerly  much 
barley  was  raised  about  Livadia,  but  the  cost  of  transport- 
ing it  to  Athens  upon  asses  was  found  to  be  just  three- 
fourths  of  the  value  of  what  the  ass  carried,  so  that,  unless 
the  trader  succeeded  in  doing  a  little  highway  robbery  on 
his  way  back,  he  lost  money  by  the  trip.  The  peasantry 
around  Athens  now  use  carts,  and  with  the  present  high 
prices,  succeed  in  driving  a  very  good  business.  The 
Government  is  at  last  making  an  effort  to  do  something  in 
the  way  of  remedying  this  evil.  We  hear  of  roads  to 
Chalcis,  to  Corinth,  and  other  places.  An  engineer  has 
been  imported  from  France  at  a  salary  of  22,000  francs  a 
year,  notwithstanding  there  is  an  abundance  of  Greek 


AGRICULTURE    AND    RESOURCES.  275 

engineers  idle.  A  large  sum  has  been  raise  I  by  special 
taxation,  but  all  that  has  yet  been  accomplished  is  the 
grading  of  a  few  streets  in  Athens.  But  —  "  Do  not  expect 
too  much  of  us,"  say  the  Greeks. 

A  German  botanist  (Fraas,  I  think)  has  given  a  very 
decided  opinion  that  the  lost  forests  of  Greece  can  never  be 
restored,  and  that  the  land  must  consequently  remain  dry 
and  barren.  From  this  decision  I  must  wholly  dissent.  All 
Greece,  it  is  true,  rests  on  a  bed  of  blue  limestone,  which 
refines  into  marble  here  and  there,  and  the  hills  which  have 
been  disforested  are  as  bare  and  dry  as  the  mountains  of 
Moab.  Hymettus  appears  to  be  hopelessly  naked,  and 
even  Parnes  hides  his  few  remaining  pines  in  the  depth  of 
his  savage  gorges.  Yet  the  least  encouragement  would 
reclothe  even  this  sterility.  An  example  of  what  simply 
letting  the  mountains  alone  will  do,  is  seen  at  the  pass  of 
CEnoe,  between  Cithaeron  and  Parnes.  Here  the  peasants 
have  been  prevented,  for  a  few  years  past,  from  touching 
the  young  pines,  and  the  heights  are  covered  green  and 
thick,  up  to  the  very  summit.  As  for  forest  culture,  such 
as  is  carried  on  with  so  much  success  in  Germany,  it  is 
unheard  of.  It  is  true,  Inspectors,  Foresters,  &c.,  have 
been  appointed,  and  some  200,000  drachmas  of  the  revenue 
go  in  this  way,  but  the  only  thing  they  do  is  to  make  the 
peasants  pay  for  tapping  pine  -  trees  for  resin,  instead  of 
taking  it  for  nothing.  If  a  Greek  mountaineer  wants  a  lit- 
tle wood  for  his  fire,  he  cuts  down  twenty  thriving  saplings 
rather  than  fatigue  himself  by  felling  a  full  -  grown  tree. 
EutxBa,  which  was  once  a  land  of  splendid  forests,  abound- 
ing with  deer,  is  rapidly  becoming  denuded,  and  the  moon 


276  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

tain  valleys,  once  plentifully  and  regularly  watered,  are  now 
subject  to  alternate  freshets  and  drouths. 

Wood  was  sold  in  Athens  during  the  winter  of  1857-8 
it  the  rate  of  a  cen'  a  pound,  while  the  grand  oak  woods 
of  Doris  and  Elis  are  lying  full  of  rotting  trunks.  All  over 
the  country  one  sees  noble  trees  wantonly  girdled,  even  in 
the  midst  of  forests,  where  they  are  never  felled.  It  would 
seem  that  the  people  took  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  the  act  of 
destruction.  A  large  land-owner  in  Euboea  informed  me 
that  while  superintending  the  cutting  of  pines  in  his  woods, 
he  directed  the  workmen  to  be  very  careful  and  fell  the 
trees  in  such  a  direction  as  to  injure  tlie  saplings  under 
them  as  little  as  possible.  The  people  laughed  outright, 
and  almost  told  him  to  his  face  that  he  was  a  fool.  The 
saplings,  they  said,  were  little  things,  worth  nothing 
except  to  burn,  and  it  would  be  no  harm  to  destroy  them 
all.  Where  the  forests  have  only  been  partially  spared, 
there  are  fountains  and  running  streams  the  whole  year 
through.  The  Alpheus  and  the  Eurotas,  fed  by  the  oak- 
covered  hills  of  Arcadia,  flow  through  summer  heats,  but 
in  naked  Attica  the  Cephissus  and  the  Ilissus  perish  even 
before  they  reach  the  sea. 

Agriculture,  as  I  have  said,  is  in  the  most  imperfect  state. 
I  find,  on  repeated  inquiry,  that  fifteen  fold  —  that  is,  fifteen 
bushels  reaped  for  one  sown  —  is  considered  a  large  crop, 
and  that  the  general  average  cannot  be  considered  highei 
than  eight  fold.  The  soil  is  not  manured,  but  relieved  a 
little  by  a  rotation  of  crops.  It  is  scratched  up  to  the 
depth  of  three  or  four  inches  with  an  antediluvian  plow 
and  then  crosswise  again,  so  that  the  soil  L-  cut  »n  smal 


AGKICTI/ITIIK    AM)    RESOURCES.  277 

subes  or  dice.  Then  the  farmer  sits  down  and  folds  hie 
hands,  waiting  for  a  rain  that  shall  dissolve  and  break  up 
these  -mbes,  so  that  he  can  sow  his  grain.  Sometimes  a 
freshet  conies  in  the  meanwhile  and  carries  them  ill  off 
before  they  have  had  time  to  dissolve,  leaving  only  the 
hieroglyphics  made  by  the  point  of  the  plowshare  in  the 
hard  surface  below. 

The  other  staple  productions  of  Greece — oil,  silk,  cur- 
rants, and  wine — are  more  easily  managed,  and  hence  the 
yield  from  them  is  greater.  The  vines  are  pruned  in  the 
spring,  the  earth  is  dug  up,  raised  into  heaps  between  the 
stalks,  and  finely  pulverized,  and  they  are  then  left  to  their 
fate.  Olive  and  mulberry  trees  are  planted,  and  that  is  all. 
The  produce  both  of  silk  and  currants  is  slowly  but  steadily 
increasing,  and  the  number  of  olive  trees,  which  in  1833 
was  700,000,  now  amounts  to  2,400,000.  Yet  in  spite  of 
this  apparent  growth,  the  country  is  poorer  now  than  it 
was  under  the  Turkish  domination.  The  little  Province  of 
Achaia  alone  yielded  to  the  Latin  princes,  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  a  greater  revenue  than  the  whole  kingdom  of 
Greece  at  present.  The  fact  is,  the  country  is  poor,  only 
jecause  the  development  of  its  resources  has  been  most 
shamefully  neglected. 

A  circumstance  which  more  than  anything  else,  perhaps, 
retards  this  development,  is  the  religious  indolence  of  the 
Greek  farmers.  A  creed  which  turns  one  half  the  days 
tf  the  year  into  saintly  anniversaries,  on  which  it  is  sinful 
to  do  any  manner  of  work,  would  ruin  any  country  in  the 
m>rld.  In  addition  to  these  saints'  days,  there  are  four 
grand  fasts,  and  a  number  of  smaller  ones,  amounting,  in 


278  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

all,  to  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  days,  or  five  month* 
These  are  most  rigidly  kept,  and  though  the  temperate 
Greek  satisfies  his  hunger  with  bread,  olives,  and  onions 
his  Capacity  for  labor  is  seriously  affected.  To  crown  hia 
?h<:itcoraings  as  an  agriculturist,  add  his  egregious  vanity, 
veliieh  prevents  him  from  suspecting  that  there  is  any 
knowledge  in  the  world  superior  to  his  own.  An  English 
gentleman,  long  settled  in  Greece,  assured  me  that  he  found 
it  almost  impossible  to  teach  his  workmen,  owing  to  thi? 
trait  of  character.  Whenever  he  directed  anything  to  be 
done,  instead  of  being  obeyed,  he  always  received  instruc- 
tions from  them  as  to  how  it  might  be  better  done.  After 
twenty  -  four  years'  experience,  he  was  almost  ready  to 
despair  of  their  improvement. 

I  found  the  country  Greeks  generally  honest  We  met 
with  two  or  three  instances  of  downright  imposition,  bul 
this  might  occur  in  any  country  —  except  in  the  northern 
and  western  provinces  of  Sweden.  Those  who  have  the 
worst  reputation  are  the  most  friendly  and  agreeable. 
The  Mainote  robbers,  as  they  are  called,  the  Delphians, 
and  the  Dorians,  are  hearty,  cheerful,  hospitable  people, 
and  I  shall  long  remember  them  with  pleasure.  The  timid 
traveller  need  no  longer  hesitate  to  visit  Greece,  from  a 
vision  of  fierce  palikars  levelling  their  long  guns  at  him  in 
the  mountain  passes.  Northern  Greece  has  long  been  ovei^ 
run  by  a  band  of  robbers  under  the  command  of  the  chief, 
Kalabaliki,  but  just  before  we  left  Athens,  himself  and  the 
greater  part  of  his  men  were  shot  by  the  Govvrnment 
troops,  near  Thebes.  With  the  death  of  Kalabaliki  brig- 
andage is  almost  suppressed  in  Greece.  From  1854  to 


AGRICULTURE    AND    RESOURCES.  270 

1858  the  number  of  robbers  shot  or  executed  was  493 !  I 
must  state,  however,  on  the  authority  of  the  Minister  ol 
War,  that  ouly  twenty  of  the  whole  number  were  born 
within  the  limits  of  the  kingdom. 

Besides  her  neglected  fields  and  forests,  Greece  has  also 
neglected  mines.  There  is  the  material  for  a  hundred  Par. 
thenons  yet  in  Pentelicus ;  the  white,  waxy  marble  of 
Naxos  and  Paros ;  precious  verde  antique  and  rouge  an- 
tique in  Taygetus :  coal  in  Euboea,  sulphur  on  the  Isthmus, 
and  emery  in  Naxos.  It  is  said  that  the  treasures  of  Paros 
are  to  be  exploited,  but  of  the  other  mineral  productions, 
sulphur  and  emery,  only,  are  quarried  to  a  limited  extent 
Agriculture,  however,  should  be  the  first  care  of  a  nation, 
and  until  Greece  has  roads  for  the  transportation  of  her 
corn,  wine,  and  oil,  she  will  scarcely  be  able  to  make  her 
quarries  available.  I  have  not  yet  heard  of  any  geological 
survey  of  the  country,  but  I  know  an  intelligent  young 
officer  who  spent  eighteen  months,  by  the  order  and  at  the 
expense  of  the  Government,  in  making  a  secret  military 
reconnoissance  of  Turkey  !  Offer  a  plan  for  the  irrigation 
of  the  Cephissian  plain,  and  you  will  be  politely  snubbed. 
Offer  another  of  the  fortifications  of  Constantinople,  and 
you  will  be  well  paid. 


Enough  of  dry  statement.  Let  me  not  lose  the  pensive 
sweetness  and  sadness  of  this  last  evening  in  Athens.  The 
sun  is  sinking  in  clear  saffron  light  beyond  the  pass  of 
Daphne,  and  a  purple  flush  plays  all  along  the  high,  barren 


280  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

lides  of  Hymettus.  Before  me  rises  the  Acropolis,  with  its 
crown  of  beauty,  the  Parthenon,  on  whose  snowy  front  the 
sunsets  of  two  thousand  years  have  left  their  golden  stain. 
In  the  distance  is  the  musical  ^Egean,  dancing  with  light- 
whispering  waves  to  fill  the  rock-hewn  sarcophagus  of 
Themistocles.  Plato's  olives  send  a  silver  glimmer  through 
the  dusk  that  is  creeping  over  the  Attic  plain.  Many  an 
evening  have  I  contemplated  this  illustrious  landscape,  but 
it  was  never  so  lovely  as  now,  when  I  look  upon  it  for  the 
last  time.  Every  melodious  wave  in  the  long  outline  of  the 
immortal  mountains  —  every  scarred  marble  in  the  august 
piles  of  ruin  —  every  blood  -  red  anemone  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ilissus,  and  every  asphodel  that  blossoms  on  the  hill  of 
Colonos  —  I  know  them  and  they  know  me.  Not  as  a 
curious  stranger  do  I  leave  Athens  ;  not  as  a  traveller  eager 
for  new  scenes  ;  but  with  the  regret  of  one  who  knows  and 
loves  the  sacred  soil,  to  whom  it  has  been  at  once  a  sanc- 
tuary and  a  home. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

BETURN     TO     THE     NORTH. 

WE  went  direct  from  Athens  to  Constantinople  in  the 
French  steamer  Meandre.  The  voyage  was  a  repetition  of 
the  two  which  I  have  described  years  ago,  and  I  shall  make 
ao  further  note  of  it  than  to  advise  all  my  friends  and 
re&ders  who  may  visit  the  Orient  to  choose  (he  steamers  of 
the  French  Messageries  in  every  possible  case,  rather  than 
those  of  the  Austrian  Lloyd.  Over  the  unrippled  jEgean 
our  trip  was  a  luxurious  one,  and  though  we  missed  Sunium 
and  ^aw  the  Trojan  Ida  by  twilight,  we  steamed  around 
Seraglio  Point  and  into  the  Golden  Horn  in  the  full  blaze 
of  noon  —  a  piece  of  real  good  fortune  to  those  who  see 
Constantinople  for  the  first  time.  In  thi<»  category  were 
even  Americans  on  board  the  steamer. 

I  noticed  but  three  changes  in  Constantinople  since  I  first 
saw  it,  in  1852 — to  wit:  Pera  is  lighted  with  gas,  the 
hotels  have  raised  their  prices  five  francs  a  day,  and  the 
iogs  of  Stamboul  no  longer  bark  at  Giaours*.  In  all  other 
respects,  it  is  the  same  medley  of  unparalleled  external 


282  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE    AND    RUSSIA. 

splendor  and  internal  filth,  imperfect  Europe  and  shabby 
Asia.  The  last  change  of  the  three  is  undoubtedly  due  tc 
the  wholesome  training  given  to  the  dogs  aforesaid  by  the 
soldiers  of  the  allied  armies.  It  is  an  astonishing  fact  that 
dogs  of  the  most  orthodox  Moslem  breed  now  tolerate  the 
presence  of  the  Frank,  without  a  snarl.  Moreover,  St 
Sophia,  then  accessible  only  through  the  all  potent  seal  of 
the  Grand  Vizier,  now  sees  its  doors  turn  on  their  holy 
hinges  for  an  every -day  bribe.  Even  at  the  mosque  of 
Eyoub,  standard-bearer  of  Mahmoud  II.,  I  was  refused 
admission  only  because  it  was  Ramazan.  There  is  a  Turk- 
ish theatre  in  Pera,  Turkish  plays  (adapted  from  the  Italian) 
are  acted  by  Turkish  actors,  and  —  oh,  shade  of  the  Prophet  ! 
— Turkish  women  appear  unveiled  upon  the  stage.  Thiy, 
however,  does  not  signify  much.  Polygamy  and  the  seclu- 
sion of  women  are  a  part  of  the  Moslem  religion,  and  with 
that  religion  dies  the  prestige  of  the  race.  The  fraterniza- 
tion of  Turkey  with  the  Western  Powers  has  forced  her 
to  relinquish  a  few  antiquated  prejudices — and  that  is  all. 

The  grand  fete  of  the  Night  of  Predestination  took  place 
two  days  after  our  arrival,  and,  with  the  recollection  of  ita 
magical  illuminations  six  years  before,  fresh  in  my  mind,  I 
promised  my  companions  a  spectacle  such  as  they  had  never 
yet  witnessed  ;  but  it  turned  out  to  be  a  comparative 
failure.  The  Turkish  Government  has  wisely  grown  eco- 
nomical. The  far-echoing  thunders  of  a  thousand  cannon, 
booming  up  and  down  the  length  of  the  Bosphorus,  were 
wanting  ;  and  though  we  floated  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd 
of  caiques  in  the  Golden  Horn,  the  waters  were  dark  under- 
neath us,  and  the  sky  dark  above — not  lighted  to  red  trans- 


RETURN   TO   THE   NORTH.  288 

parency,  as  I  once  saw  them,  with  the  minarets  blazing  like 
fiery  lances  around  the  fiery  helmets  of  (he  domes. 

We  had  rather  an  adventurous  trip  to  the  Sweet  Waters 
of  Europe.  The  wind  was  blowing  strongly  from  the  west, 
but  I  took  a  four-oared  caique,  and  after  passing  Cassim 
Pasha,  where  we  were  most  exposed  to  its  force,  supposed 
tliat  we  should  get  on  without  further  trouble.  But  on 
turning  northward  into  the  valley  of  the  Sweet  Waters,  it 
came  on  a  perfect  hurricane.  We  could  scarcely  breathe, 
and  the  boatmen  tried  in  vain  to  manage  our  egg-she!l  of  a 
craft.  We  drove  first  upon  a  marshy  island ;  then  upon 
the  shore ;  then  down  stream  ;  then  against  a  pier ;  and 
finally  striking  upon  a  rock,  the  caique  began  to  fill.  We 
were  in  the  edge  of  a  swamp  ;  Braisted  and  I  lifted  the 
lady  out  into  the  reeds,  and  we  made  the  best  of  our  way 
to  firm  land.  All  landmarks  were  lost  in  a  cloud  of  dust; 
the  tempest  blew  with  such  force  that  it  was  barely  possi- 
ble to  stand ;  and  when  we  at  last  wore  round  so  as  to  scud 
before  the  wind,  we  were  almost  taken  off  our  feet.  After 
much  search  and  the  payment  of  a  pound  sterling,  I  pro- 
cured a  jolting  Turkish  araba  to  take  us  back  to  Pera,  but 
on  crossing  the  brow  of  the  hill  above  the  Sweet  Waters, 
we  were  several  times  on  the  point  of  being  overturned  by 
the  blast. 

The  steamer  in  which  we  took  passage  to  Galatz  proved 
to  be  our  old  friend  the  Miramar,  with  her  gallant 
captain,  Mazarevitch.  We  had  soft  spring  sunshine  for 
the  glorious  panorama  of  the  Bosphorus,  but  the  day  be- 
came partially  obscured  as  we  entered  the  Black  Sea,  and 
about  five  in  the  afternoon,  the  sky  being  clear  only  to  the 


284  TRAVELS   IN    GREECE   AND   RUSSIA. 

northward,  a  most  singular  mirage  arose  in  that  direction 
Vessels  were  seen  suspended  in  the  air,  about  two  degrees 
above  the  horizon,  with  inverted  images  below  them, 
Beyond  them  ran  a  long  line  of  low  coast,  which  in  the 
north-east  rose  into  hills,  covered  with  patches  of  dark  fip 
trees.  There  was  no  land  nearer  than  the  Crimea  in  that 
direction,  and  it  was  about  180  miles  distant.  What,  then, 
were  these  shores  ?  They  were  no  mere  optical  delusion, 
for  through  a  strong  glass  the  outlines  appeared  very  dis 
tinct  even  to  the  projecting  buttresses  and  receding  gulf  ot 
the  hills.  I  came  to  the  conclusion,  therefore,  that  it  was 
actually  the  mountain-shore  of  the  Crimea  which  I  beheld, 
almost  from  the  mouth  of  the  Bosphorus.  The  wind  was 
blowing  cold  from  the  north-west  at  the  time,  with  dull 
clouds  overhead,  but  the  phantom  picture  was  lighted  with 
strong  sunshine,  and  the  sails  of  the  vessels  appeared  to 
hang  almost  motionless. 

After  two  disagreeable  nights  and  one  disagreeable  day. 
we  reached  the  Sulina  mouth  of  the  Danube.  The  river 
makes  his  muddy  presence  known  far  off  shore,  like  the 
Mississippi,  the  Ganges,  and  the  Yang-tze-Kiang.  The 
land  is  as  flat  as  a  pancake,  and  Sulina,  which  consists  of  a 
light-house  and  a  long  row  of  wooden  buildings  on  piles, 
resembles  the  skeleton  of  a  town  deposited  there  by  some 
freshet.  You  exchange  the  green  plain  of  the  sea  for  the 
green  plain  of  the  Dobrudja  marshes,  through  which  the 
Danube  winds  like  a  brown  vein.  Much  was  said  about 
the  improvements  for  navigation  at  Sulina,  in  the  Pari? 
Conferences,  but  the  most  I  could  discover  was  a  long  line 
of  posts  to  which  vessels  were  moored,  and  which  may  be 


RETURN   TO    THE   NORTH.  28* 

the  forerunner  of  a  wharf.  We  passed  through  a  street  of 
vessels  nearly  three  miles  long,  touching  each  other  sten 
and  stern,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  then  pursued  our 
winding  way  towards  Galatz,  comparatively  alone.  By  and 
by,  however,  the  hills  of  the  Dobrudja  arose  in  the  south- 
west, and  the  monotonous  level  of  the  swamps  was  brokei; 
by  belts  of  trees.  Vegetation  appeared  to  be  fully  as  far 
advanced  as  at  Constantinople,  although  we  were  nearly 
five  degrees  further  north. 

In  the  afternoon,  we  passed  the  southern  or  St.  George's 
arm  of  the  Danube,  which  is  now  so  closed  up  by  a  bar  at 
its  mouth  as  to  be  useless.  The  northern  or  Kilia  arm 
enters  a  short  distance  higher  up,  and  looking  towards  it  at 
sunset,  over  the  great  levels,  we  saw  the  fortress-town  of 
Ismail,  built  upon  its  northern  bank.  This  was  the  famous 
citadel  of  the  Turks,  which  fell  before  Suwarrow,  after  one 
of  the  bloodiest  assaults  recorded  in  history.  We  anchored 
for  some  hours  during  the  night,  but  early  the  next  morn- 
ing were  at  Galatz,  in  Moldavia. 

I  cannot  say  much  about  this  place,  for  we  only  remained 
long  enough  to  exchange  our  Black  Sea  steamer  for  the 
river-boat  of  the  Danube  Company.  It  is  a  dull,  common 
place  town,  built  over  the  slope  of  a  long,  barren  hill. 
Some  travellers,  who  had  been  there  several  days,  had 
nothing  whatever  to  tell  me  about  it.  We  were  much 
more  interested  in  our  new  steamer,  which  was  built  on  the 
American  plan,  and  very  handsomely  furnished.  But — 
down  with  all  monopolies !  say  I.  Although  the  fare  from 
Constantinople  to  Pesth — a  voyage  of  seven  days — is  $70 
this  does  not  include  a  state-room  on  the  river-boats,  foi 


286  THA.VELS    IN    GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

which  $52  additional  is  demanded !  Nevertheless,  I  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  telegraph  flora  Constantinople  to 
Galatz  to  secure  a  room.  A  single  message  costs  twenty 
francs,  yet  when  we  reached  Galatz,  six  days  afterwards, 
the  message  had  not  arrived.  The  nearest  approach  to  this 
which  I  ever  experienced  was  in  Ohio,  where  a  message 
which  I  sent  was  three  days  and  a  half  in  going  two  hun- 
dred miles.  The  engineer  of  the  boat  kindly  offered  to  give 
me  his  cabin,  containing  one  berth,  for  $50,  but  we  preferred 
using  the  common  cabins,  which  were  as  badly  ventilated 
as  on  the  American  boats.  These  Danube  steamers,  how- 
ever, were  very  swift,  kept  in  admirable  order,  and  the 
fare  (what  little  there  was  of  it)  was  unexceptionable. 

From  Galatz  to  the  Iron  Gates,  in  ascending  the  Danube, 
you  have  two  days  of  monotonous  scenery.  On  one  side 
the  low  hills  of  Turkey, — heavy,  ungraceful  ridges,  gen- 
erally barren  of  wood, — and  on  the  other  the  interminable 
plains  of  Wallachia.  Except  Giurgevo,  the  port  of  Bucha- 
rest, there  are  no  towns  on  the  northern  shore,  but  on  the 
southern  you  pass,  in  succession,  Rnstchuk,  Silistria,  Nico- 
polis,  and  Widin,  besides  a  great  number  of  shabby,  red- 
roofed  villages,  nestled  in  the  elbows  of  the  hills.  Immense 
herds  of  horses  graze  on  the  meadows ;  rough  Wallachian 
boors  in  wide  trowsers  and  low  black  hats  lounge  about 
their  huts,  which  are  raised  on  high  piles  out  of  the  reach 
of  freshets;  guard -houses  at  regular  intervals  stud  the 
bank,  and  three  slovenly  gray  soldiers  present  arms  as 
we  pass ;  coal-barges  and  flat-boats  descend  the  river  in 
long  black  lines ;  and  all  these  pictures,  repeated  over  and 
over  again,  at  last  weary  the  eye.  We  passed  Silistria  at 


RETURN    TO    THE    NORTH.  287 

dusk,  and  I  saw  only  an  indistinct  silhouette  of  its  famous 
fort.  But  the  scars  of  battle  vanish  soon  from  the  oartb 
and  Silistria  is  as  quiet  and  orderly  now  as  if  it  had  not 
heard  a  cannon  for  a  thousand  year?. 

At  Gladowa,  we  entered  the  celebrated  Iron  Gates, 
where  a  spur  of  the  Transylvanian  Alps,  running  south- 
we-tward  through  Servia  to  join  the  central  mountain  chain 
of  Turkey,  attempts  to  barricade  the  Danube.  But,  like 
the  Rhine  at  Bingen,  and  the  Potomac  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
he  has  cut  with  his  crystal  sword  the  Gordian  labyrinth 
he  could  not  thread,  and  roars  in  a  series  of  triumphant 
rapids  through  the  heart  of  the  terrible  hills.  Covered 
with  forests  of  oak,  beech,  larch,  and  pine,  the  mountains 
tower  grandly  on  either  hand,  while  through  the  inter 
locking  bases  the  river  descends  in  watery  planes,  whose 
slant  can  be  readily  measured  by  the  eye.  The  rocks 
have  been  blasted  so  as  to  afford  a  channel  for  the  steamer, 
which  trembles  in  every  timber  as  she  stems  the  foamy 
tangle  of  chutes  and  whirlpools.  Let  one  of  her  iron  mus- 
cles give  way,  and  the  river  would  have  his  will.  A  mile 
and  a  half  of  slow,  trembling,  exciting  progress,  and  we 
have  mounted  the  heaviest  grade,  but  six  hours  of  the  same 
tremendous  scenery  await  us.  We  pierce  yet  sublimer 
solitudes,  and  look  on  pictures  of  precipice  and  piled  rock, 
of  cavern  and  yawning  gorge,  and  mountain  walls,  almost 
shutting  out  the  day,  such  as  no  other  river  in  Europe  can 
show. 

At  Orsova,  the  northern  bank  becomes  Austrian,  and  w« 
were  ushered  into  the  Empire  with  the  usual  suavity.  J 
must  confess  that  much  as  I  detest  the  Austrian  Govern 


288  TRAVELS    IN    GREECE   AND    RUSSIA. 

ment,  there  are  few  countries  in  Europe  where  a  trarellef 
meets  with  so  little  annoyance  and  so  much  courtesy.  All 
day  long,  we  sat  on  the  hurricane  deck,  enjoying  the 
superb  scenery,  but  towards  evening  the  mountains  drop- 
ped into  hills,  and  the  hills  on  the  northern  bank  flattened 
out  into  the  great  plain  of  Hungary.  We  passed  Belgrade 
during  the  night,  and  early  next  morning  were  at  Peter 
wardein,  a  fortress  in  southern  Hungary.  The  contrast 
between  Turk  and  German  (or  the  races  under  German 
rule)  was  as  surprising  as  it  was  welcome.  I  had  not  ex- 
pected to  see,  here  in  the  Banat,  on  the  borders  of  Servia, 
so  sudden  a  line  drawn  between  the  indolence,  filth,  and 
discomfort  of  the  Orient,  and  the  order,  neatness  industry,  And 
progi««s  of  the  Occident. 


n. 

POLAND  AND  RUSSIA. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

ORACOW,    AND   THE   SALT   MINES    OP   WIELICZKA 

THE  great  Brandenburg  Plain,  or  "Baltic  Sand-sea,"  aa 
Humboldt  calls  it,  which  accompanied  us  all  the  way  to 
Breslau,  did  not  cease  until  after  we  had  crossed  the  border 
of  Austrian  Poland.  The  day  was  intensely  hot,  and  the 
dust  on  the  road  stifling.  These  vast  levels,  where  great 
grain  tracts  alternate  with  pine  forests,  are  even  more 
monotonous  than  our  own  prairies,  because  they  are  far 
less  fertile.  In  many  places,  the  desert  sand  of  the  lost 
ocean  whose  waves  once  rolled  here  pierces  the  thin  coat- 
ing  of  soil  and  defies  all  attempts  at  cultivation.  The 
forests  first  reclaimed  it,  and  much  of  it  should  be  given 
back  for  a  time  to  the  keeping  of  the  forests  again.  In  this 
region  rye  is  grown  almost  exclusively.  As  we  penetrated 
further  into  Upper  Silesia,  the  smoke  of  smelting  furnaces 
blotted  the  air  and  sooty  trails  marked  the  way  to  the  coal 
mines.  An  intelligent  young  Pole,  in  the  cars,  informed 


290  TRA.VELS   TN   POLA^TD    ATO   RUSSIA. 

me  that  the  country  has  also  a  good  name  for  its  agricul 
tural  condition — the  province  being  full  of  large  landed 
proprietors,  who,  it  seems,  have  paid  much  attention  to  the 
improvement  of  the  soil. 

After  passing  Oppeln  the  Polish  language  begins  to  be 
heard,  and  Polish  Jews,  in  rusty  black  caftans  and  shabby 
cylinder  hats,  are  seen  at  the  stations.  The  pine  forests 
are  more  frequent,  and  some  low  undulating  swells — the 
first  fault  ripples  of  the  distant  Carpathians — break  the 
dead  uniformity.  "  When  you  get  beyond  Myslowitz," 
said  the  young  Pole,  "  you  will  see  a  bit  of  the  Sahara,  only 
instead  of  camels  there  are  Austrians."  -  Myslowitz  is  the 
last  Prussian  station,  and  really,  for  ten  miles  beyond,  the 
country  is  a  hopeless  waste  of  sand,  as  yellow  and  bare  as 
the  Nubian  Desert.  After  passing  Szczakowa,  where  the 
Warsaw  road  branches  off,  the  country  gradually  improved. 
The  low  swells  rose  into  hills  covered  with  dark  forests, 
between  which  lay  meadows,  or  rather  immense  flower- 
beds, sheets  of  glittering  pink  and  yellow,  threaded  by 
tributaries  of  the  Vistula.  Polish  peasants,  in  their  high 
black  hats,  long  jackets  and  wide  Chinese  trowsers,  were  at 
work  in  the  fields,  or  tending  the  herds  of  horses. 
Strength,  coarseness,  and  stupidity,  occasionally  relieved  by 
a  twinkle  of  cunning,  were  their  prominent  characteristics 
Some  of  the  boys  were  Irish  over  and  over. 

The  sepulchral  mound  of  Kosciusko,  on  the  summit  of  a 
long  hill,  denoted  our  approach  to  Cracow.  It  is  visible 
far  and  wide,  a  noble  landmark.  The  Austrians  have  com- 
menoed  fortifying  the  city,  and  this  monument,  being  on  a 
commanding  point,  is  now  inclosed  by  a  strong  fort 


CBACOW,    AJfD   THE   SALT   MINES    OF   WJLEUCZKA.        291 

Eastward,  over  a  green  belt  of  foliage — tall  ash  trees, 
avenues  of  Lombardy  poplars,  and  locusts  showered  all 
over  with  blossoms — lies  Cracow,  in  the  lap  of  the  ;  aller 
of  the  Vistula,  which  stretches  away  to  -the  south- west 
until  its  folding  hills  of  green  grow  blue  in  the  distance, 
and  crouch  at  the  feet  of  the  high  Carpathian  mountains 
Tall,  fantastic,  Tartaresque  spires  shoot  up  in  pairs  from 
the  stretch  of  tiled  roofs,  and  in  the  midst,  on  the  mound 
of  the  Wawel,  stands  in  massive  and  venerable  ugliness, 
the  ancient  Palace  of  the  Polish  Kings.  The  novelty  of 
the  picture,  no  less  than  its  exquisite  beauty,  took  me  by 
surprise.  I  seemed  to  be  already  far  away  from  Europe, 
and  in  that  strange  central  region  which,  in  character, 
forms  a  continent  by  itself. 

This  impression  was  not  weakened  after  arriving.  A 
queer,  bearded  hackney-coachman  took  our  baggage,  re- 
peating with  great  emphasis  "piet-nasty  "  (or  something 
like  it),  which  I  was  afraid  referred  to  my  dusty  appearance, 
but  the  German  conductor  explained  that  it  was  "  fifteen," 
the  number  of  the  fiacre.  Driving  through  an  old  tower- 
gate  we  entered  the  city,  and  were  deposited  at  a  hotel, 
where  a  room  spacious  enough  for  a  king's  audience-hall 
was  given  to  us.  Our  first  visitor  was  a  black  Jew,  w he- 
wanted  to  do  something  in  the  exchange  way.  Then  came 
a  rosy  Polish  chambermaid,  who  asked  whether  we  had 
brought  our  own  bedding !  The  valet-de-place  was  also  a 
Jew,  rusty,  black,  and  unwashed,  whose  company  we  were 
obliged  to  endure,  during  an  inspection  of  the  city. 

The  place  has  a  modern  air,  with  the  exception  of  the 
ahurches,  upon  which  rests  the  nu-How  weight  of  from  twc 


L92  TRAVELS   IN    POLAND   AND   TCUSSIA. 

to  five  centuries.  We  were  more  interested  in  the  people 
who  happened  to  be  celebrating  a  national  and  a  religious 
festival  at  the  same  time,  and  thronged  every  street  in  tbeir 
holiday  clothes*  Not  only  was  all  Cracow  out  of  doors, 
Out  thousands  of  peasants  from  the  neighboring  villages  ha  3 
come  into  the  city  to  share  in  the  festivities.  There  was 
the  most  fantastic  and  picturesque  mixture  of  characters 
and  costumes.  It  was  the  last  day  of  Frohnleichnamsfest 
(the  Body  of  Christ),  and  religious  processions,  with  tapers, 
shrines,  and  banners  of  white  and  crimson  silk,  were 
parading  the  streets.  A  company  of  boy  choristers,  in 
scarlet  robes,  and  bearing  a  crucifix,  generally  led  the  way. 
Then  came  a  group  of  young  peasants,  bare-headed,  with 
wild,  matted  hair,  and  candles  in  their  hands ;  next  girls 
carrying  a  shrine  and  canopy,  decorated  with  flowers,  and 
lastly,  priests  and  peasants  mingled  together,  with  a  crowd 
of  devout  followers. 

The  civic  festival  was  the  anniversary  of  a  victory  over 
the  Tartars,  which  has  been  annually  celebrated  for  the  last 
seven  hundred  years.  It  is  characterized  by  a  curious  cere- 
mony called  the  Konik,  which  came  off  in  the  evening.  A 
man  dressed  to  represent  a  Tartar  chief,  with  a  turb&n  of 
preposterous  size,  terminating  in  a  high,  conical  cap,  with 
his  face  masked,  and  his  body  inclosed  in  an  imitation  horse, 
over  which  his  false  legs  dangled,  was  conducted  through 
the  principal  streets,  preceded  by  the  sound  of  trumpet 
and  the  banners  of  the  city.  He  carried  in  his  hand  a  sort 
of  mace,  with  which  he  attacked  every  one  who  came  near 
nim,  accompanying  his  blows  with  what  must  have  been 
very  humorous  and  telling  remarks,  to  judge  from  th< 


OBACOW,    AND   THE   SALT   MINES    OF   WIELICZKA.        29f 

shouts  and  laughter  of  the  crowd.  The  press  of  peopl« 
was  so  great,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  a  double  line  of  sol- 
diers who  accompanied  this  curious  procession,  that  we  had 
great  difficulty  in  catching  a  glimpse  of  what  was  going  c  a 
We  mounted  the  Wawel  to  the  castle  of  the  Polish 
Kings,  which  is  now  a  military  barrack.  Two  new 
towers  and  a  wall  of  circumvallation  have  been  recently 
added. 

The  frst  court,  high,  and  with  arched  galleries  around 
every  story,  was  formerly  the  residence  of  the  nobles 
attached  to  the  Polish  court.  Beyond  this  we  entered  a 
large  open  space,  on  the  right  of  which  stood  the  Cathedral, 
a  lofty  ancient  pile,  of  no  particular  style  of  architecture. 
The  Jew  called  our  attention  to  the  dome  over  one  of  the 
side-chapels.  "  See !"  said  he,  "  that  is  real  ducat  gold  ; 
you  will  not  see  the  like  anywhere  else  in  the  world."  But 
the  heavy  gilding  has  been  for  the  most  part  torn  away,  and 
the  dome  has  rather  a  shabby  look  in  consequence.  An 
ox-faced  Polish  priest  took  us  in  charge,  and  showed  us  the 
monuments  of  many  kings  and  more  bishops — ringing  his- 
torical names,  some  of  which  stir  the  blood.  The  cata- 
falques of  Casimir  the  Great,  of  Wratislaw,  of  Stephen 
Batory,  of  John  Sobieski,  and  others,  rich  with  marble  and 
silver,  fill  the  side  chapels  of  this  storied  pile.  There  still 
exists  the  stall  of  precious  marble,  where  the  Kings  of 
Poland  attended  mass,  with  wooden  seats  on  either  side  for 
the  ministers ;  while  in  the  chancel,  before  the  magnificent 
gilded  altar,  stands  the  velvet  canopy  under  which  they 
were  crowned.  The  sepulchral  monuments  are  poor, 
except  two  statues  by  Thorwaldsen — a  repetition  of  his 


294  TRAVELS     IN     POLAND     AND     RUSSIA. 

Christ,  and  the  Roman,  half-nude  figure  of  Prince  Po- 
tocki. 

We  afterwards  descended  into  the  crypt  of  the  church 
by  a  trap-door  in  the  pavement.  Here,  groping  along  after 
the  waxen  torch  in  the  priest's  hands,  we  came  to  the  mas- 
sive silver  sarcophagi  of  Wladislaus  IV.  and  his  queen. 
Beyond  these  glittering  shells,  at  the  end  of  the  dusky 
vault,  gloomed  a  sarcophagus  of  black  marble,  inscribed 
with  the  name  of  John  Sobieski.  The  Saviour  of  Austria 
(who  repaid  his  services  a  hundred  years  later  !)  lies  in 
fitting  company:  on  his  right  hand  is  Poniatowski,  on  his 
left  Kosciusko,  both  in  marble  coffins.  I  went  up  iv\  e- 
rently  and  placed  my  hand  upon  the  stone  which  covers 
each — proud,  noble,  glorious  hearts,  now  dust  for  ever ! 

Every  boy  who  reads  "  The  Wonders  of  the  World  "  in 
the  chimney-comer,  in  the  long  winter  evenings,  as  I  have- 
done,  has  heard  of  the  salt  mines  of  Wieliczka.  The 
account  of  this  subterranean  saline  world  made  a  profound 
impression  upon  me  when  a  youngster,  and  I  diverged  a 
little  from  my  direct  route  on  purpose  to  visit  it.  Al! 
wonders  which  we  first  hear  of  in  the  dear,  secluded  nest 
of  home,  most  attract  us  after  our  wings  have  grown  and 
.ve  have  become  restless  birds  of  passage;  but  not  all 
retain  the  old  magic  after  we  behold  them.  The  Maelstrom 
turned  out  to  be  an  immense  exaggeration;  Teneriffe  and 
the  Natural  Bridges  of  Iconouzo  lie  far  out  of  my  track, 
but  here  were  the  salt  mines,  within  eight  miles  of  Cracow, 
and  I  should  have  been  false  to  every  promise  of  youth  if 
I  had  not  visited  them.  It'  "The  Wonders  of  the  World " 
is  still  extant,  and  some  of  my  youthful  readers  are 


CRACOW,    AND   THE   SALT   MINES    OF    WTELICZKA.        29^ 

actj  aainted  with  the  book,  I  know  they  will  not  overlook 
this  chapter.  Talking  is  pleasantest  when  one  is  sure  oi 
an  interested  audience  beforehand. 

In  company  with  a  Professor  from  St.  Petersburg,  we 
left  Cracow  in  the  morning,  crossed  the  Vistula,  and  drove 
eastward  through  a  low,  undulating  country,  covered  with 
fields  of  rye,  oats,  and  potatoes.  The  village  of  Wieliczka 
occupies  a  charming  situation  on  the  northern  slope  of  a 
long,  wood-crowned  hill.  The  large  store-houses  for  the 
salt,  the  Government  offices,  and  the  residences  of  the 
superintendents,  on  a  slight  eminence  near  the  foot,  first 
strike  the  eye.  After  procuring  a  permit  from  the  proper 
official,  we  presented  ourselves  at  the  office,  over  the  mouth 
of  the  mine,  in  company  with  five  Prussian  travellers,  two 
of  them  ladies,  and  a  wandering  German  mechanic,  who 
had  tramped  out  from  Cracow  in  the  hope  of  seeing  the 
place.  We  were  all  enveloped  in  long,  coarse  blouses  of 
white  linen,  and  having  bespoken  a  supply  of  Bengal  lights, 
a  door  was  opened,  and  we  commenced  descending  into 
the  bowels  of  the  earth  by  an  easy  staircase,  in  a  square 
shaft.  Six  boys,  carrying  flaring  lamps,  were  distributed 
among  our  party,  and  one  of  the  superintendents  assumed 
the  office  of  conductor. 

After  descending  210  feet,  we  saw  the  first  veins  of  rock 
salt,  in  a  bed  of  clay  and  crumbled  sandstone.  Thirty  feet 
more,  and  we  were  in  a  world  of  salt.  Level  galleries 
branched  off  from  the  foot  of  the  staircase ;  overhead,  a 
ceiling  oi  solid  salt,  under  foot  a  floor  of  salt,  and  on 
either  side  dark  gray  walls  of  salt,  sparkling  here  and 
vhere  with  minute  crystals.  Lights  glimmered  ahead,  and 


296  TRAVELS    IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

on  turning  a  corner  we  came  upon  a  gang  of  workmen,  scmt 
hacking  away  at  the  solid  floor,  others  trundling  wheel- 
barrows full  of  the  precious  cubes.  Here  was  the  chapeJ 
of  St.  Anthony,  the  oldest  in  the  mines — a  Byzantine  exca 
nation,  supported  by  columns  with  altar,  crucifix,  and  life- 
size  statues  of  saints,  apparently  in  black  marble,  but  all  as 
salt  as  Lot's  wife,  as  I  discovered  by  putting  my  tongue  to 
the  nose  of  John  the  Baptist.  The  humid  air  of  this  uppei 
story  of  the  mines  has  damaged  some  of  the  saints :  Francis, 
especially,  is  running  away  like  a  dip  candle,  and  all  of  hip 
head  is  gone  except  his  chin.  The  limbs  of  Joseph  are  drop 
ping  off  as  if  he  had  the  Norwegian  leprosy,  and  Law- 
rence has  deeper  scars  than  his  gridiron  could  have  made, 
running  up  and  down  his  back.  A  Bengal  light  burnt  at  thy 
altar,  brought  into  sudden  life  this  strange  temple,  which  pre- 
sently vanished  into  utter  darkness,  as  if  it  had  never  been. 
I  cannot  follow,  step  by  step,  our  journey  of  two  hours 
through  the  labyrinths  of  this  wonderful  mine.  It  is  a 
bewildering  maze  of  galleries,  grand  halls,  staircases,  and 
vaulted  chambers,  where  one  soon  loses  all  sense  of  distance 
or  direction,  and  drifts  along  blindly  in  the  wake  of  his 
conductor.  Everything  was  solid  salt,  except  where  great 
piers  of  hewn  logs  had  been  built  up  to  support  some 
threatening  roof,  or  vast  chasms,  left  hi  quarrying,  had 
been  bridged  across.  As  we  descended  to  lower  regions, 
the  air  became  more  dry  and  agreeable,  and  the  salino  walls 
more  pure  and  brilliant.  One  hall,  108  feet  in  height, 
resembled  a  Grecian  theatre,  the  traces  of  blocks  taken  out 
in  regular  layers  representing  the  seats  for  the  spectators. 
Out  of  this  single  hall  1,000,000  cwt,  of  salt  had  been 


CBA.OOW     AND   THE   SAL!    MINES    OF   WIELICZKA.        29^ 

taken,  or  enough  to  supply  the  40,000,000  inhabitants  of 
Austria  for  one  year. 

Two  obelisks  of  salt  commemorated  the  visit  of  Francis 
f.  and  his  Empress  in  another  spacious,  irregular  vault 
through  which  we  passed  by  means  of  a  wooden  bridge 
resting  on  piers  of  the  crystalline  rock.  After  we  had 
descended  to  the  bottom  of  this  chamber,  a  boy  ran  along 
the  bridge  above  with  a  burning  Bengal  light,  throwing 
flashes  of  blue  lustre  on  the  obelisks,  on  the  scarred  walls, 
vast  arches,  the  entrances  to  deeper  halls,  and  the  far  roof 
fretted  with  the  picks  of  the  workmen.  The  effect  was 
magical — wonderful.  Even  the  old  Prussian,  who  had  the 
face  of  an  exchange  broker,  exclaimed,  as  he  pointed 
upward:  "It  is  like  a  sky  full  of  cloud-lambkins."  Pre- 
sently we  entered  another  and  loftier  chamber,  yawning 
downwards  like  the  mouth  of  Hell,  with  cavernous  tunnels 
opening  out  of  the  further  end.  In  these  tunnels  the  work- 
men, half-naked,  with  torches  in  their  hands,  wild  cries, 
fireworks,  and  the  firing  of  guns  (which  here  so  reverberates 
in  the  imprisoned  air  that  one  can  feel  every  wave  of  sound), 
give  a  rough  representation  of  the  infernal  regions,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  crowned  heads  who  visit  the  mines.  Tho 
effect  must  be  indeed  diabolical.  Even  we,  unexceptionabl* 
characters  as  we  were,  looked  truly  uncanny  in  our  ghostly 
garments,  amid  the  livid  glare  of  the  fireworks. 

A  little  further,  we  struck  upon  a  lake  four  fathoms  deep, 
upon  which  we  embarked  in  a  heavy  square  boat  and 
3iitered  a  gloomy  tunnel,  over  the  entrance  of  which  wai 
inscribed  (in  salt  letters)  "Good  luck  to  you!"  In  such  n 
place  the  motto  seemed  ironical.  "  Abandon  nope,  all  ye 


298  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND    AND   RUSSIA. 

who  enter  here,"  would  have  been  more  appropriate 
Midway  in  the  tunnel,  the  halls  at  either  end  were  suddenly 
illuminated,  and  a  crash,  as  of  a  hundred  cannon,  bellowing 
through  the  hollow  vaults,  shook  the  air  and  water  in  such 
wise  that  our  boat  had  not  ceased  trembling  when  we 
1  mded  in  the  further  hall.  Read  Tasso : 

"Treman  le  spaziose  atre  ca Verne, 
E'l  asr  cieco  in  qud  rumor  rimbomba," 

if  you  want  to  hear  the  sound  of  it.  A  tablet  inscribed 
"heartily  welcome!"  saluted  us  in  landing.  Finally,  at 
the  depth  of  450  feet,  our  journey  ceased,  although  we 
were  but  half  way  to  the  bottom.  The  remainder  is  a 
wilderness  of  shafts,  galleries,  and  smaller  chambers,  the 
extent  of  which  we  could  only  conjecture.  We  then 
returned  through  scores  of  tortuous  passages  to  some 
vaults  where  a  lot  of  gnomes,  naked  to  the  hips,  were  busy 
with  pick,  mallet,  and  wedge,  blocking  out  and  separating 
the  solid  pavement.  The  process  is  quite  primitive,  scarcely 
differing  from  that  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  in  quarrying 
granite.  The  blocks  are  first  marked  out  on  the  surface  by 
series  of  grooves.  One  side  is  then  deepened  to  the 
required  thickness,  and  wedges  being  inserted  under  the 
block,  it  is  soon  split  off.  It  is  then  split  transversely  int 
pieces  of  one  cwt.  each,  in  which  form  it  is  ready  for  sale. 
Those  intended  for  Russia  are  rounded  on  the  edges  and 
corners  until  they  acquire  the  shape  of  large  cocoons,  for 
the  convenience  of  transportati  >n  into  the  interior  of  th« 
country. 


CRACOW,    AND     THE     SALT     MINES     OF     WIELICZKA.          299 

The  number  of  workmen  employed  in  the  mines  is  1,500, 
all  of  \vhom  belong  to  the  "upper  crust" — that  is,  they 
live  on  the  outside  of  the  world.  They  are  divided  into 
gangs,  and  relieve  each  other  every  six  hours.  Each  gang 
quarries  out,  on  an  average,  a  little  more  than  1,000  cwt. 
of  salt  in  that  space  of  time,  making  the  annual  yield 
1,500,000  cwt.!  The  men  we  saw  were  fine,  muscular, 
healthy-looking  fellows,  and  the  officer,  in  answer  to  my 
questions,  stated  that  their  sanitary  condition  was  quite 
equal  to  that  of  field  laborers.  Scurvy  doeb  not  occur 
among  them,  and  the  equality  of  the  temperature  of  the 
mines — which  stands  at  54°  of  Fahrenheit  all  the  yeai 
round — has  a  favorable  effect  upon  such  as  are  predisposed 
to  diseases  of  the  lungs.  He  was  not  aware  of  any  peculiar 
form  of  disease  induced  by  the  substance  in  which  they 
work,  notwithstanding  where  the  air  is  humid  salt-crystals 
form  upon  the  wood-work.  The  wood,  I  may  here  remark, 
never  rots,  and  where  untouched,  retains  its  quality  for 
centuries.  The  officer  explicitly  denied  the  story  of  men 
having  been  born  in  these  mines,  and  having  gone  through 
life  without  ever  mounting  to  the  upper  world.  So  there 
goes  another  interesting  fiction  of  our  youth. 

It  requires  a  stretch  of  imagination  to  conceive  the  extent 
of  this  salt  bed.  As  far  as  explored,  its  length  is  two  and 
a  half  English  miles,  its  breadth  a  little  over  half  a  mile 
anl  its  solid  depth  690  feet!  It  commences  about  200  feet 
below  the  surface,  and  is  then  uninterrupted  to  the  bottom, 
where  it  rests  on  a  bed  of  compact  sandstone,  such  as  forma 
the  peaks  of  the  Carpathian  Mountains.  Below  this,  there 
is  no  probability  that  it  again  reappears.  The  general 


300  TRAVE15   IN    POLAND    AND   RUSSIA. 

direction  is  east  and  west,  dipping  rapidly  at  its  western 
extremity,  so  that  it  may  no  doubt  be  pushed  much  ft.rther 
in  that  direction.  Notwithstanding  the  immense  amount 
already  quarried — and  it  will  be  better  understood  when  I 
tate  that  the  aggregate  length  of  the  shafts  and  galleries 
amounts  to  four  hundred  and  twenty  miles — it  is  estimated 
that,  at  the  present  rate  of  exploitation,  the  known  supply 
cannot  be  exhausted  under  300  years.  The  tripartite 
treaty,  on  the  partition  of  Poland,  limits  Austria  to  the 
production  of  the  present  amount — 1,500,000  cwt.  annually 
— of  which  she  is  bound  to  furnish  300,000  cwt.  to  Prussia, 
and  800,000  to  Russia,  leaving  400,000  cwt.  for  herself. 
This  sum  yields  her  a  net  revenue  from  the  mines,  of  two 
millions  of  florins  ($1,000,000)  annually. 

It  is  not  known  how  this  wonderful  deposit — more  pre- 
cious than  gold  itself — was  originally  discovered.  We 
know  that  it  was  worked  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  per- 
haps much  earlier.  The  popular  faith  has  invented  several 
miracles  to  account  for  it,  giving  the  merit  to  favorite 
saints.  One,  which  is  gravely  published  in  "  The  History  of 
Cracow,"  states  that  a  Polish  King,  who  wooed  a  Princess 
Elizabeth  of  Hungary  (not  the  saint  of  the  Wartburg) 
in  the  tenth  century,  asked  what  she  would  choose  as  a 
bridal  gift  from  him.  To  which  she  replied:  Something 
that  would  most  benefit  his  people.  The  marriage  cere- 
nouy  was  performed  in  a  chapel  in  one  of  the  salt-mines  of 
Transylvania.  Soon  after  being  transferred  to  Cracow 
Elizabeth  went  out  to  Wieliczka,  surveyed  the  ground,  and, 
after  choosing  a 'spot,  commanded  the  people  to  dig.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  days  they  found  a  salt-crystal,  which  ths 


CRACOW,    AXD    THE    SALT    MIXES    OF    WIEL1OZKA.        301 

Queen  caused  to  be  set  iu  her  wedding-ring,  and  wore  until 
the  day  of  her  death.  She  must  have  been  a  wonderful 
geologist,  for  those  days.  The  bed  actually  follows  the 
Carpathians,  appearing  at  intervals  in  small  deposits,  into 
Transylvania,  where  there  are  extensive  mines.  It  \s 
believed,  also,  that  it  stretches  northward  into  Russian 
Poland.  Some  years  ago  the  Bank  of  Warsaw  expended 
large  sums  in  boring  for  salt  near  the  Austrian  frontier. 
There  was  much  excitement  and  speculation  for  a  tune; 
but,  although  the  mineral  was  found,  the  cost  of  quarrying 
it  was  too  great,  and  the  enterprise  was  dropped. 

On  our  return  we  visited  Francis-Joseph's  hall,  a  large 
salt  ball-room,  with  well  executed  statues  of  Vulcan  and 
Neptunft.  Six  large  chandeliers,  apparently  of  cut  glass, 
but  really  of  salt,  illuminate  it  on  festive  occasions,  and 
hundreds  of  dancers  perspire  themselves  into  a  pretty  pickle. 
When  we  had  reached  the  upper  galleries,  wre  decided  to 
ascend  to  daylight  by  means  of  the  windlass.  The  Prus- 
sian party  went  first,  and  the  ladies  were  not  a  little 
alarmed  at  finding  themselves  seated  in  rope  slings,  only 
supported  by  a  band  under  the  arms.  All  five  swung 
together  in  a  heap;  the  ladies  screamed  and  would  lui.e 
loosened  themselves,  but  that  moment  the  windlass  began 
to  move,  and  up  they  went,  dangling,  towards  the  little 
star  of  daylight,  two  hundred  feet  above.  Under  them  hung 
one  of  the  boys,  to  steady  the  whirling  mass,  and  the  little 
acamp  amused  himself  by  swinging  his  lamp,  cracking  his 
heels  together  and  rattling  his  stick  along  the  sides  of  the 
shaft.  When  our  turn  came,  I  found,  in  spite  of  myself, 
that  such  pastime  was  not  calculated  to  steady  my  nerves 


302  TRAVELS    IN   POLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

The  sound  of  the  stick  was  very  much  like  that  of  snapping 
ropes,  and  ray  brain  swam  a  little  at  finding  my  feet  dan 
gling  over  what  seemed  a  bottomless  abyss  of  darkness. 

The  arrival  at  the  top  was  like  a  douche  of  lightning.  It 
\vasjust  noon,  and  the  hot,  white,  blinding  day  poured  fuP 
upon  us,  stinging  our  eyes  like  needles,  and  almost  taking 
away  our  breath.  We  were  at  once  beset  with  a  crowd  of 
beggars  and  salt-venders.  The  latter  proffered  a  multitude 
of  small  articles — crosses,  stars,  images,  books,  cups,  dishes, 
&c. — cut  from  the  native  crystal,  and  not  distinguishable 
from  glass  in  appearance.  I  purchased  a  salt-cellar,  which 
has  the  property  of  furnishing  salt  when  it  is  empty.  But 
it  seemed  to  me  that  I  should  not  need  to  use  it  for  some  days. 
I  felt  myself  so  thoroughly  impregnated  with  salt,  that  I 
conceived  the  idea  of  seasoning  my  soup  by  stirring  it  with 
my  fingers,  and  half  expected  that  the  fresh  roast  would 
turn  to  corned  beef  in  my  mouth. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

A     GLANCE     AT     WAE8AW. 

BEFORE  leaving  Cracow,  we  visited  the  monument  to  Kos- 
ciusko,  which  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  city  It 
is  a  simple  mound  of  earth,  thrown  together  by  the  Poles. 
in  memory  of  the  hero  of  two  hemispheres.  They  are 
proud  of  the  renown  of  Sobieski,  but  they  treasure  the 
name  of  Kosciusko  within  their  heart  of  hearts.  Probably 
no  man  was  ever  before  honored  with  such  a  monument. 
It  was  not  raised  by  subscription  and  hired  labor,  but  by 
the  spontaneous  work  of  thousands  of  hands.  Old  and 
young,  male  and  female,  the  noble  and  the  peasant,  carried 
their  loads  of  earth,  until  the  mound  arose  to  be  a  beacon 
to  the  little  Free  State  of  Cracow — so  long  as  that  Free 
State  existed.  The  account  of  its  erection  is  truly  touch- 
lug,  and  one  cannot  look  upon  it  without  hoping  that  il 
may  last  to  tell  the  story  to  distant  ages  and  nations  yet 
unformed. 

When  the  Austrian  Government  determined  to  fortify 
Cracow,  the  commanding  position  which  this  mound  occu- 


304  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND    AND    RUSSIA 

pies  could  not  be  overlooked.  It  is  now  completely  inclosed 
within  a  glaring  new  fortification  of  brick  and  earth,  wliich 
overlooks  the  valley  and  the  course  of  the  Vistula  for  many 
a  league.  In  the  very  centre  of  the  fort  rises  the  singular 
tumulus,  high  overtopping  its  bastioned  walls.  A  great 
circular  buttress  of  brick,  twenty  feet  high,  has  been  built, 
around  its  base  and  the  earth  filled  in,  so  that  the  mound  is 
really  strengthened,  although  it  loses  much  of  its  picturesque 
ness  by  this  environment.  Its  original  height  must  have 
been  about  120  feet,  with  a  base  of  from  200  to  250  feet  in 
diameter.  It  is  conical  and  very  steep,  with  a  double  path 
encircling  it  to  the  top.  A  number  of  workmen  were  em- 
ployed in  smoothing  its  rough,  neglected  surface,  and  coat- 
ing it  with  an  even  garment  of  thick  turf.  This  looked 
like  perilous  work,  as  the  least  slip  would  in  many  places 
have  precipitated  them  headlong  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
below.  They  were  only  supported  on  the  edges  of  the  turf 
itself,  or  on  small  pins  driven  into  the  earth. 

The  panoramic  view  from  the  summit  is  exceedingly 
beautiful.  Cracow  lay  "before  us,  buried  in  blooming 
groves ;  the  Vistula  flashed  and  glittered  in  many  a  curve 
through  the  green  meadows ;  gently-swelling  hills,  in  the 
north,  melted  away  into  the  plains  of  Poland,  while  in  the 
south  the  successive  ridges  rose  higher  and  higher,  dark 
with  forests,  until  the  misty  Carpathians  crowned  them  all 
Below  us  was  the  place  of  Lobkow,  where  dwelt  Esther,  the 
beautiful  Jewess,  beloved  by  Casimir  the  Great.  This 
love,  guilty  though  it  was,  procured  a  home  in  Poland  for 
the  oppressed  nice,  and  since  that  time  the  country  has  been 
\heir  second  Judea.  In  other  respects,  however,  their  con- 


A     GLANCE     AT     WARSAW.  305 

dition  has  not  improved,  for  a  more  vile  and  filthy  race 
(except  the  Chinese)  cannot  disgust  the  traveller.  Thou- 
sands of  soldiers  were  skirmishing  on  the  green  meadows 
of  the  Vistula,  and  the  stream  was  filled  with  whole  com- 
panies of  them,  bathing. 

Cracow  is  now  connected  with  Warsaw,  by  railroad,  but 
it  was  necessary  to  retrace  our  way  .as  far  as  Szczakowa, 
on  the  borders  of  the  Little  Sahara.  After  waiting  a  long 
hour  at  this  place,  we  got  into  another  train  and  in  ten 
minutes  crossed  the  little  river  Przemsza,  the  frontier  of 
Russian  Poland.  On  the  opposite  bank  is  the  station  of 
Granilza,  where  one  is  subjected  to  a  detention  of  three 
I  ours,  in  order  that  the  necessary  formalities  on  entering 
Russia  may  be  complied  with.  We  first  gave  up  our 
passports,  which  were  duly  examined  and  vised,  and  then 
attended  to  our  baggage.  The  examination  was  not  parti- 
cularly strict,  except  that  the  officer  tore  up  and  threw  away 
every  particle  of  newspaper  in  which  anything  was  wrapped, 
Our  books  were  also  laid  aside,  and  all,  with  the  exception 
of  a  German  guide-book,  retained.  We  received  a  receipt 
for  them,  and  were  told  that  we  should  hear  of  them  again 
at  the  Censor's  office  in  Moscow.  They  consisted  of  the 
History  of  Cracow,  a  volume  of  Household  Words,  Kohl's 
St.  Petersburg,  and  Henry  Carey's  Letters  to  President 
Buchanan.  Murray  and  a  German  work  I  was  reading 
were  stowed  away  in  our  pockets,  and  escaped.  Although 
Polish  is  exclusively  spoken  at  this  place,  the  officers  under 
stood  German,  and  we  found  them  courteous  and  obliging. 
No  questions  whatever  were  asked. 

The  country  is  one  unvarying  level  from  the  frontier  to 


806  TEAVKLS   IN   POLAND    AND   KUSSIA. 

Warsaw,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles.  At  first,  you 
pass  through  a  region  of  sand  and  pine  wood,  the  very 
counterpart  of  New  Jersey  or  North  Carolina ;  then  broad 
plains,  partially  cultivated;  then  pasture  steppes,  pine 
wood,  and  cultivation  again.  The  villages  are  scattering 
clusters  of  thatched  cottages  resembling  Irish  cabins,  ex- 
cept that  they  are  always  neatly  whitewashed  and  have  a 
more  tidy  appearance.  This  is  rather  in  contrast  to  the 
people,  who  are  very  dirty.  The  common,  coarse  Slavonic 
type  is  here  universal — low,  square  forehead,  heavy  brows, 
prominent  cheek-bones,  flattish  nose,  with  broad  nostrils 
and  full  lips.  With  the  addition  of  a  projecting  mouth, 
many  of  the  faces  would  be  completely  Irish.  The  refined 
Slavonic  face,  as  one  sees  it  among  the  Polish  gentiy,  is 
nevertheless  very  handsome.  The  forehead  becomes  nigh 
and  arched,  the  nose  straight  and  regular,  and  the  face 
shows  an  approach  to  the  classic  oval.  This  is  even  more 
striking  in  the  female  than  in  the  male  countenance.  A.t 

o 

Granitza  we  were  charmed  b}  a  vision  of  perfect  loveliness, 
which  shone  on  us  from  time  to  time,  from  the  upper 
window  of  an  adjoining  mansion.  It  was  a  woman  of 
twenty-two,  of  ripe  and  yet  tender  beauty — features  exqui 
sitely  regular,  complexion  like  a  blush  rose,  large,  soft  eyes, 
rather  violet  than  blue,  and  a  rippling  crown  of  magnificent 
Lair,  "brown  in  the  shadow  and  gold  in  the  sun."  I  con 
fess  to  watching  this  beautiful  creature  for  half  an  hour 
through  the  window-blinds.  The  face  of  Kosciusko  is  pure 
Slavonic,  of  the  peasant  type,  as  is  also  that  of  Copernicus, 
if  the  portraits  of  him  are  correct. 
The  only  place  of  any  interest  which  we  passed  wa» 


A    GLANCE    Al'    WARSAW.  307 

C/enstochau,  celebrated  for  a  miracle-working  image  of  the 
Madonna.  It  is  a  pretty  little  town,  partly  built  upon  a  hill 
which  is  at  least  fifty  feet  high.  The  station-houses  on  the 
road  are  similar  to  those  in  Germany,  except  that  in  the 
refreshment-room  one  sees,  instead  of  multitudinous  seidL 
of  beer,  the  Russian  samovar,  and  tumblers  of  hot  tea,  in 
which  float  slices  of  lemon.  There  are  long  delays  at  each 
station,  which  make  the  journey  tedious,  notwithstanding 
the  speed  of  the  trains,  when  in  motion,  is  very  good. 
Several  thunder-storms  passed  over  us,  cooling  the  air  and 
laying  the  frightful  dust ;  night  came  on,  and  it  was  past 
midnight  before  we  reached  Warsaw.  We  were  like  a 
couple  of  lost  sheep  in  the  crowd,  all  of  whom  were  hurry- 
ing to  get  to  their  beds,  for  the  only  language  heard  was 
Polish,  and  the  officials  shook  their  heads  when  I  addressed 
them  hi  French  or  German.  Finally,  by  imitating  the  ma- 
jority,  we  got  rid  of  our  passports,  had  our  trunks  exam 
ined  again,  and  reached  the  Hotel  d'Europe  before  day- 
break. 

The  forenoon  was  devoted  to  preparations  for  our  further 
journey.  Fortunately,  the  diligence  which  was  to  leave 
for  Moscow  the  next  evening  was  vacant,  and  we  at  once 
engaged  places.  The  passport  was  a  more  serious  affair, 
as  our  own  would  avail  us  no  further,  but  we  must  take  out 
Russian  ones  instead.  The  Jew  valet-de-place  whispered 
to  me,  as  we  entered  the  office :  "  Speak  French  "  The 
Poles  hate  the  Germans  much  worse  than  they  do  their 
Russian  conquerors,  and  although  many  of  them  understand 
the  language,  it  is  considered  that  of  business,  while  French 
b  the  fashionable  tongue.  The  officer  asked  a  few  quea 


508  TRAVELS   IN    POLAND    AXD    RUSSIA. 

tions — what  was  our  object  in  coming  to  Russia—  whether 
we  had  any  acquaintances  in  the  country — whethei  we  had 
ever  been  there  before — whether  we  were  engaged  in  any 
business,  etc.,  and  then  sent  us  with  a  checked  certificate 
into  another  room,  where  the  same  questions  were  repeated 
and  a  document  made  out,  which  we  were  requested  to 
sign.  Our  conductor  slipped  a  ruble  note  between  the  two 
papers,  and  handed  them  to  a  third  official,  who  adroitly 
removed  the  bribe  and  completed  the  necessary  forms. 
These  were  petitions  to  the  Governor  of  Warsaw,  praying 
him  to  grant  us  passports  to  Moscow.  On  calling  at  the 
Governor's  office,  a  secretary  informed  us  that  the  passports 
would  be  ready  the  next  day,  bit  added,  as  we  were  leav- 
ing :  "  You  had  better  pay  for  them  now."  Hereupon  the 
valet  handed  over  the  money,  adding  a  ruble  above  the 
proper  amount,  and  then  observed  to  me  :  "  Now  you  are 
sure  of  getting  them  in  time."  True  enough,  they  were 
furnished  at  the  appointed  hour.  The  entire  outlay  was 
about  four  rubles. 

It  was  a  sweltering  day,  the  thermometer  90°  in  the 
shade,  and  we  could  do  nothing  more  than  lounge  through 
some  of  the  principal  streets.  Warsaw  is  indeed  a  spacious, 
stately  city,  but  I  had  heard  it  overpraised,  and  was  a  little 
disappointed.  It  resembles  Berlin  more  than  any  other  Euro- 
pean capital,  but  is  less  monotonously  laid  out,  and  more  gay 
and  animated  in  its  aspects.  At  the  time  of  my  visit  (June 
14th),  owing  to  the  annual  races,  there  was  a  large  influx 
of  visitors  from  the  country,  and  the  streets  were  thronged 
with  a  motley  multitude.  The  numerous  public  squares — 
fifteen  in  all,  I  think — picturesquely  irregular,  form  ac 


A    GLANCE   AT   WARSAW.  30 fl 

agreeable  feature  of  the  city.  The  palacea  of  the  Polish 
nobles,  massive  and  desolate,  remind  one  of  Florence,  but 
without  the  Palladian  grace  of  the  latter.  But  fe\v  of 
them  are  inhabited  by  the  original  families.  Some  of  them 
are  appropriated  to  civil  and  military  iises,  and  in  one  of 
them  I  resided  during  my  stay.  The  churches  of  St.  John 
and  the  Holy  Cross,  and  the  Lutheran  church,  are  rather 
large  and  lofty  than  imposing,  but  rise  finely  above  the  level 
masses  of  buildings,  and  furnish  landmarks  to  the  city. 
Decidedly  the  most  impressive  picture  in  Warsaw  is  that 
from  the  edge  of  the  river  bank,  where  the  Zamek — the 
ancient  citadel  and  palace  of  the  Polish  kings — rises  with 
its  towers  and  long  walls  on  your  left,  while  under  you  lies 
the  older  part  of  the  city,  with  its  narrow  streets  and  an- 
cient houses,  crowded  between  the  Vistula  and  the  foot  of 
the  hill. 

In  the  afternoon  we  took  an  omnibus  to  the  race-course, 
which  is  about  two  miles  distant.  The  whole  city  was 
wending  thither,  and  there  could  not  have  been  less  than 
forty  or  fifty  thousand  persons  on  the  ground.  It  was  a 
thoroughly  Polish  crowd,  there  being  but  few  Russians  or 
Germans  present.  Peasants  from  the  country  with  sun- 
browned  faces,  and  long,  light-brown  hair,  with  round  Chi 
nese  caps  and  petticoat  trowsers ;  mechanics  and  petty 
tradesmen  of  either  honestly  coarse  or  shabby-genteel  ap- 
pearance ;  Jews,  with  long  greased  locks  hanging  from 
their  temples,  lank,  unctuous,  and  far-smelling  figures  ;  Cos- 
sacks, with  their  long  lances,  heavy  caps  of  black  sheepskin, 
and  breasts  covered  with  cartridge  pockets;  prosperou> 
burghers,  sleek  and  proper,  and  straight  as  the  figure 


J10  TRAVELS    IN    POLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

columns  in  their  ledgers  ;  noblemen,  poor  and  with  a  ine 
lancholy  air  of  fallen  greatness,  or  rich  and  flaunting  in  thf 
careless  freedom  of  secured  position.  Besides,  there  were 
itinerant  peddlers,  by  hundreds,  selling  oranges,  sweet- 
meats, cigars  done  up  in  sealed  packages,  which  offered  an 
agreeable  hazard  in  buying  them,  beer,  and  even  water,  in 
large  stone  jugs.  The  crowd  formed  a  compact  inclosure 
nearly  around  the  whole  course  of  two  miles.  Outside  of 
it  extended  a  wide  belt  of  carriages,  hacks,  omnibuses,  and 
rough  country  carts,  and  as  the  soil  was  six  inches  deep  in 
fine  dust,  the  continual  arrivals  of  vehicles  raised  such 
clouds  that  at  times  a  man  could  scarcely  see  his  nearest 
neighbor. 

We  held  out  with  difficulty  long  enough  to  see  the  first 
race,  which  was  to  have  taken  place  at  five,  but,  with 
oriental  punctuality,  commenced  at  half-past  six.  The 
horses,  although  of  mixed  English  blood,  fell  considerably 
below  the  English  standard.  There  were  eight  in  all,  but 
the  race  was  not  exciting,  as  a  fine  bay  animal,  ridden  by 
an  English  jockey,  took  the  lead  at  the  start,  and  kept  it 
to  the  end.  During  the  second  heat  a  Polish  jockey  was 
thrown  from  his  horse,  breaking  his  neck  instantly.  What 
more  interested  me  than  the  speed  of  the  horses,  was  the 
beauty  of  the  Polish  women  of  the  better  class.  During 
two  years  in  Europe,  I  did  not  see  so  great  a  number  of 
handsome  faces,  as  I  there  saw  in  an  hour.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  furnish  a  larger  proportion  from  the  acknow 
ledged  loveliness  of  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  or  Louisville 
These  maids  of  Warsaw  are  not  only  radiant  blondes,  whose 
eyes  and  hair  remind  y^»u  of  corn-flowers  among  1'ipe  grain. 


A   GLANCE   AT   WAESAW.  311 

but  also  dark-eyed  beauties,  with  faces  of  a  full  Southern 
oval,  lips  round  and  delicate  as  those  of  an  Amorette,  and 
a  pure  golden  transparency  of  complexion.  The  connois- 
seur of  woman's  beauty  can  nowhere  better  compare  these 
two  rival  styles,  nor  have  so  great  a  difficulty  in  deciding 
between  them. 

We  made  our  way  back  to  the  city  in  a  blinding  cloud  of 
dust,  between  a  double  row  of  clamorous  beggars.  They 
were  wonderfully  picturesque  creatures,  where  some  repul- 
sive deformity  was  not  exposed.  There  were  the  hoary 
heads  of  saints,  which  seemed  to  have  come  direct  from 
Italian  canvas,  sun-burnt  boys  from  Murillo,  and  skinny 
hags  drawn  by  the  hand  of  Michael  Angelo.  Over  the 
noiseless  bed  of  dust  rushed  the  country  carts,  filled  with 
peasants  drunk  enough  to  be  jolly,  the  funny  little  horses 
going  in  a  frolicsome,  irregular  gallop,  as  if  they  too  had 
taken  a  drop  too  much.  Now  and  then  some  overladen 
pedestrian,  beating  a  zigzag  course  against  the  gale,  would 
fall  and  disappear  in  a  cloud,  like  a  bursting  shell.  I  saw 
but  one  specimen  of  the  picturesque  Polish  costume — a  ser- 
vant-girl  in  red  petticoat  and  boots,  and  the  trim  jacket 
which  we  all  know  in  the  Cracovienne.  The  poorer  women, 
generally,  were  shabby  and  slovenly  imitations  of  the  rich. 

Wandering  along  the  streets,  with  throats  full  of  dust, 
we  were  attracted  to  the  sign  of  "  Piwo  Jfavarski" 
(Bavarian  beer).  Entering  a  court  littered  with  the  refuse 
of  the  kitchen,  we  discovered  a  sort  of  German  restaurant, 
of  suspicious  cleanliness.  The  proprietor  who  served  us 
with  an  insipid  beverage — a  slai.dc-r  on  the  admirable  brew- 
age  of  Munich — soon  learned  that  we  were  strangens. 


512  TBAVELS   IN  POLAND   AND  KUSSIA. 

"  But  bow  did  you  happen  to  find  my  place  ?''  he  asked. 
"  All  the  other  beer-saloons  in  the  city  are  dirty,  low  places : 
mine  is  the  only  noble  establishment."  He  was  very  desi- 
rous of  importing  a  negro  girl  from  America,  for  a  bar- 
maid, "I  should  have  all  the  nobility  of  the  city  here," 
said  he.  "  She  would  be  a  great  curiosity.  There  is  that 
woman  Pastrana,  with  the  hair  all  over  her  face — she  has 
made  a  great  fortune,  they  say.  There  are  not  many  of  the 
kind,  and  I  could  not  afford  it,  but  if  I  could  get  one  quite 
black,  with  a  woolly  head,  I  should  make  more  money  hi  a 
day  than  I  now  do  in  a  month."  He  wished  to  engage  mo 
to  send  him  such  an  attraction,  but  I  respectfully  declined 

At  this  place  we  fell  in  with  a  Polish  pianist,  a  virtuoso 
in  pictures  and  old  furniture.  He  took  us  to  his  room,  a 
charming  artistic  and  antiquarian  den.  Among  other  things 
he  had  a  few  undoubted  originals — a  small  Rembrandt,  a 
Gerard  Dow,  a  very  fine  Matsys,  two  Bourguignons,  and  a 
landscape  which  appeared  to  be  an  early  work  of  Claude. 
He  wanted  to  sell  these,  of  course  at  a  good  price,  and  like- 
wise commissioned  me  to  furnish  him  with  a  purchaser  in 
America.  The  man  fondled  his  treasures  with  a  genuine 
attachment  and  delight,  and  I  am  sure  that  nothing  but 
necessity  induced  him  to  part  with  them. 

I  wanted  to  visit  Villanow,  the  residence  of  John  Sobieski. 
Do  you  remember  the  passage  in  dear  old  Miss  Porter's 
1  Thaddeus  of  Warsaw,"  where  the  hero  contemplates  the 
moon  ?  " '  How  often  have  I  walked  with  my  departed 
mother  upon  the  ramparts  of  Villanow,  and  gazed  upon 
that  resplendent  orb !'  '  Villanow !'  exclaimed  the  Countess ; 
'  surely  that  is  the  residence  of  Sobieski,  and  you  must  be 


A    GLANCE    AT   WARSAW.  3 If 

his  heroic  grandson,  Thaddeus  Sobieski !'  " — or  something 
quite  like  it.  But  the  lying  Jew  valet  declared  that  it  was 
a  journey  of  eight  hours,  and  I  have  discovered,  wner  too 
late,  that  it  might  be  accomplished  in  three.  The  pianist; 
however,  accompanied  us  to  Lazinski,  the  park  and  palace 
of  Stanislaus  Augustus,  on  the  banks  of  the  Vistula.  The 
building  stands  .in  the  midst  of  an  artificial  lake,  which  is 
inclosed  in  a  framework  of  forests.  The  white  statues 
which  stud  the  banks  gleam  in  strong  relief  against  the 
dark  green  background.  "There  is  nothing  so  beautiful 
as  this  in  existence,"  proudly  asserted  the  pianist,  "  and  yet 
you  see  the  place  is  deserted.  There  is  no  taste  in  Warsaw ; 
nobody  comes  here."  In  the  palace  there  is  a  picture  gal- 
lery ;  all  copies,  with  the  exception  of  portraits  of  Stanis- 
laus Augustus,  the  nobles  of  his  court,  and  his  many  mis- 
tresses. As  we  descended  the  steps,  we  met  the  son  of 
Kotzebue,  the  dramatist.  He  is  now  an  officer  (a  General, 
I  believe)  in  the  Russian  service,  more  than  sixty  years  old, 
md  of  a  very  ill-favored  physiognomy. 

So  far  as  I  may  judge  (and  my  opportunities,  I  must 
confess,  were  slight),  the  Poles  are  gradually  acquiescing 
in  the  rule  of  Russia.  The  course  pursued  by  the  present 
Emperor  has  already  given  him  much  popularity  among 
them,  and  the  plan  of  the  regeneration  of  Poland  is  inde- 
finitely postponed.  Those  with  whom  I  conversed  admit, 
if  reluctantly,  in  some  instances,  that  Alexander  II.  haa 
made  many  changes  for  the  better.  "The  best  thing  he 
has  done  for  us,"  said  an  intelligent  Pole,  "  is  the  abolition 
of  espionage.  Warsaw  is  now  full  of  former  spies,  whose 
business  is  at  an  end ;  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  they 


814  TRAVELS    IN   POLAND    AND   RUSSIA. 

are  no  longer  necessary."  The  feeling  of  nationality  sur 
vives,  however,  long  after  a  nation  is  dead  and  buried. 
The  Jews  in  Poland  call  themselves  Jews,  and  the  Pol^s  in 
llussia  will  call  themselves  Poles,  centuries  hence 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

A  JOUR.VEY  THROUGH  CENTRAL  RUSSIA. 

THERE  is  a  diligence  three  or  four  times  a  week  between 
Warsaw  and  Moscow.  The  trip — a  distance  of  eight  hun- 
dred English  miles — is  made  in  five  days  by  the  fast  coach, 
which  leaves  the  former  place  every  Monday  evening,  and 
in  six  days  by  the  others.  The  fare  is  fifty  silver  rubles 
($37£)  for  an  outside,  and  seventy  ($52£)  for  an  inside 
seat.  On  account  of  the  intense  heat,  we  took  outside 
places,  but  as  there  happened  to  be  no  other  through  pas- 
sengers we  were  allowed  the  range  of  the  entire  vehicle. 
It  was  a  strongly  built,  substantial  affair,  resembling  a 
French  diligence,  but  smaller  and  more  comfortable  in 
every  way.  A  traveller  who  had  made  this  journey  recom- 
mended us  to  take  a  supply  of  provisions,  asserting  that  it 
was  impossible  to  procure  anything  on  the  way ;  but  as  a 
Russian  official  contradicted  this  statement,  we  took  his 
word,  and  had  no  reason  to  regret  it  afterwards.  In  fact, 
I  have  never  made  a  journey  by  diligence  with  more  ease 
and  less  fatigue. 


SI 6  TRAVELS   IN    POLAJSD    AND    RUSSIA. 

At  seven  o'cbck  on  Monday  evening,  we  took  our  places 
oeside  the  Russian  conductor,  who,  in  his  coat  braided 
with  gold,  resembled  an  officer  of  cavalry,  and  started  on 
our  long  voyage  through  unknown  regions.  The  postilion 
Bounded  a  charge  on  his  trumpet  as  we  rattled  through  the 
streets  of  Warsaw,  past  the  stately  Zamek,  and  down  the 
long  hill  upon  which  the  city  is  proudly  lifted,  to  the  Vis- 
tula. A  bridge  of  boats  crosses  to  the  suburb  of  Praga, 
whence  all  traces  of  the  blood  spilt  by  Suwarrow,  Skryz 
necki,  and  Diebitsch  have  long  since  been  washed  away. 
It  is  now  a  very  quiet,  dull  sort  of  a  place,  with  no  vestigea 
of  its  former  defences.  Beyond  it  stretches  that  vast  plain 
of  Central  Europe  and  Asia,  whose  limits  are  the  British 
Channel  and  the  Chinese  Wall.  In  traversing  it,  I  was 
continually  reminded  of  Humboldt's  description  of  the 
Kirghiz  Steppes — "Ten  miles  give  you  the  picture  of  a 
thousand."  Straight  before  us,  cutting  the  belted  tracts 
of  pine-forest  and  grain  land,  the  road  ran  to  the  horizon, 
where  its  white  floo'r  met  the  sky.  Four  horses  abreast, 
with  two  leaders,  carried  us  past  the  verst-posts  at  the  rate 
of  eight  or  nine  miles  an  hour,  and  the  postilion's  horn 
sounded  incessant  warnings  to  the  slow  teams  laden  with 
hay  or  other  country  produce,  with  which  the  road  was 
filled.  The  night  was  warm  and  balmy,  and  the  long  sum- 
mer twilight  connected  sunset  and  sunrise  with  its  bridge 
af  boreal  light. 

A  young  Pole  was  our  companion  the  first  night.  I  was 
interested  in  hearing  from  him  that  Longfellow's  poems 
had  been  published  in  the  Polish  language,  at  Lublin,  a 
'arge  city  about  a  hundred  miles  south-east  of  Warsaw 


A    JOURNEY    THROUGH    CENTRAL    RUSal-i..  311 

The  distinguished  Polish  poet,  Adam  Mickiewicz,  he  stated, 
was  a  great  admirer  of  Emerson,  whom  he  frequently  cites 
in  his  prose  writings.  The  Emperor  Alexander  has  recently 
authori/ed  the  publication  of  the  collected  works  of  Mickio 
Wicz  (with  the  exception  of  some  political  papers)  at  War 
saw,  for  the  benefit  of  the  poet's  family,  and  has  also  per 
mitted  contributions  to  be  taken  up  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  post  stations  on  this  road  are  at  intervals  of  from 
twelve  to  twenty-two  versts,  and  the  diligence  usually  stops 
barely  long  enough  to  change  horses.  At  the  larger  towns, 
however,  there  is  a  halt  of  half  an  hour,  which  allows  the  pas 
senger  time  to  get  a  hasty  meal.  The  Pole  assisted  us 
during  the  first  twelve  hours,  but  after  that  we  were 
entirely  adrift,  as  the  conductor  spoke  only  in  Russian.  A 
smattering  of  the  language  was  necessary  in  order  to  sup- 
port life.  I  therefore  went  to  work,  and  with  the  assist 
ance  of  an  imperfect  vocabulary  in  Murray,  learned  the 
numerals  up  to  one-hundred,  the  words  "  how  much  /"  and 
"  immediately,"  and  beef-steak  is  the  same  in  all  languages, 
and  "  tea "  in  Russian  (tscha'i)  is  the  same  as  in  Chinese, 
had  no  difficulty  in  supplying  our  wants.  This  vocabulary, 
however,  like  most  of  those  in  guide-books,  teaches  you 
just  what  you  don't  want  to  say.  It  gives  you  the  Russian 
for  a  "floating  preserve  for  fish,"  and  "I  am  a  nobleman," 
&c.,  and  omits  such  vulgar  necessities  as  a  basin  and  towel, 
and  even  the  verb  "to  have."  Fortunately,  the  people  at 
the  station-houses  are  tolerably  quick  of  comprehension 
We  were  always  served  with  very  little  delay,  and  with 
dishes  of  which  no  reasonable  traveller  could  complain 
The  prices  varied  greatly,  being  treble  at  some  station? 


318  TRAVELS    IX   POLAND    AN'D    RUSSIA. 

what  they  were  at  others.  Whether  this  was  a  sliding 
scale  of  honesty  or  of  actual  value,  I  was  unable  to  ascertain 
All  day  we  rolled  along,  over  the  rich  plains  of  Poland, 
stopping  at  the  large  country  towns  of  Siedlce,  Miedzyrzic, 
Biala,  and  others  whose  names  the  reader  has  probably 
never  heard  and  never  could  pronounce.  The  country 
may  be  described  in  a  few  words — woods  of  pine  and 
birch,  fields  of  rye,  rape-seed  and  turnips,  broad,  swampy 
pastures,  and  scattering  one-story  villages,  with  thatched 
roofs  and  white-washed  walls.  Sunburnt  peasants  in  the 
fields,  dressed  in  round  black  felt  caps,  dirt-colored  shirts,  and 
wide  trowsers :  Jews'  in  the  villages,  disgusting  to  behold, 
with  shocking  bad  hats  of  the  stove-pipe  breed,  greasy 
love-locks  hanging  from  their  temples,  and  shabby  black 
caftans  reaching  to  their  heels.  These  people  justify  the 
former  middle  age  superstition  that  the  Jew  is  distinguished 
from  the  Christian  by  a  peculiar  bodily  odor.  You  can 
scent  them  quite  as  far  as  you  can  see  them.  Moses  would 
have  hewn  them  limb  from  limb,  for  their  foulness.  The 
worst  of  it  is,  they  hover  round  the  post-stations  and 
pounce  upon  a  stranger,  in  the  hope  of  making  somethini: 
out  of  him,  be  it  ever  so  little.  I  was  surprised  to  find 
that  they  all  speak  a  little  German,  but  afterwards  learnrd 
that  they  do  more  or  less  of  smuggling,  in  the  Baltic  pr> 
/inces.  "  They  are  such  a  timid  and  cowardly  race,"  said 
ny  informant,  "  and  yet,  when  detected  in  the  act  of  smug 
gling,  they  will  sometimes  fight  desperately,  rather  than 
lose  what  they  have."  Many  of  them  carry  on  a  trade  in 
Begars,  done  up  in  sealed  packages,  which  you  are  expected 
to  buy  without  opening. 


A   JOURNEY    TUROUUH    CENTRAL   RUSSIA.  319 

The  towns  through  which  one  passes  are  built  upon  one 
model,  and  present  very  little  difference  in  their  gei  era) 
features.  In  the  centre  is  usually  a  spacious  square,  which 
serves  as  a  market  place.  The  shops  and  Government 
offices  front  upon  it,  and  broad  streets  diverge  from  the 
four  corners.  Most  of  the  houses  are  one-story,  and  built 
of  wood,  painted  red,  white  or  yellow.  Standing  in  the 
centre  of  the  square,  one  looks  over  its  low  barrier  upon 
some  groups  of  ash,  poplar  or  linden  trees,  which  rise  from 
the  gardens  beyond,  the  heavy,  halt-Asiatic  spire  of  a 
church,  and  the  sky,  whose  large,  unbroken  vault  rests  upon 
the  circle  of  the  horizon.  In  summer,  when  many  of  tho 
inhabitants  are  in  the  fields,  the  place  has  a  silent,  sleepy 
air,  and  you  are  glad  to  exchange  it  for  the  rippling  of 
^r:ii«,  the  shadows  of  the  dark  pines,  and  the  smell  of 
blossoming  grasses,  which  await  you  at  its  very  door. 

In  the  afternoon,  we  crossed  the  Bug,  the  eastern  frontier 
of  the  last  kingdom  of  Poland,  although  the  language  is 
heard  as  far  as  the  Dnieper,  and  the  Polish  zlots  accepted 
as  currency.  Here  is  an  immense  fortified  camp,  adjoining 
the  city  of  Brzesc.  Some  hundreds  of  soldiers  were  bath- 
ing in  the  stream  and  washing  their  clothes  at  the  sam 
time.  The  fortifications  are  built  of  brick,  of  great  extent, 
but  not  of  remarkable  strength.  There  are  also  small  mili- 
tary stations  at  intervals  along  the  whole  length  of  the 
road.  The  soldiers  are  employed  in  keeping  in  c  rder  little 
onmmenta.  gardens  attached  to  the  buildings,  and  these 
bits  of  gravel  walk,  tHeket  and  flower-bed  are  so  many 
aheerful  oases  in  the  long  waste  of  a  half-cultivated 
country. 


320  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND    AND   RUSSIA. 

For  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  we  traversed 
the  swampy  region  between  the  Bug  and  the  Dnieper 
There  is  almost  an  uninterrupted  extent  of  marshy  land — • 
varying  greatly  in  breadth,  however — from  the  Baltic  to  the 
Black  Sea.  The  streams  which  form  the  Dnieper  and  the 
Dwina,  flowing  in  contrary  directions,  are  interlaced  like 
the  fingers  of  two  clasping  hands,  so  that  there  is  in  reality 
no  watershed,  but  a  level  plateau,  over  which  the  waters 
go  wandering  as  if  in  search  of  some  accident  to  determine 
their  future  course.  In  this  region  the  villages  are  few 
and  far  apart,  and  the  rank,  dark  woods  more  frequent. 
Malignant  gnats  bit  us  at  night,  and  huge  yellow  gal-flies 
came  in  swarms  by  day,  to  madden  our  horses  and  &  ttack 
ourselves.  The  country  was  monotonous  as  the  sea,  and 
so  close  was  the  general  resemblance  between  the  districts 

through  which  we   passed,  that  we   seemed  to  mate   no 

4 
headway  whatever.     Every  morning,  \ve  opened  our  eyes 

on  the  same  landscape,  or  the  same  wide,  low  village,  and 
the  same  abominable  Hebrews.  After  two  or  three  days 
of  such  travel,  we  hailed  the  first  mole-hill  of  an  elevation 
with  much  the  same  feeling  as  if  it  had  been  Mount  Blanc. 
I  could  easily  understand  why  the  Russian  peasants,  when 
they  draw  a  mountain,  place  its  summit  among  the  very 
stars. 

The  country,  nevertheless,  through  all  Central  Russia,  is 
evidently  of  great  fertility,  although,  under  an  imperfect 
system  of  cultivation,  it  does  not  yield  half  ;  f  what  it  is 
capable.  The  same  character  of  soil,  in  England,  would  be 
a  garden.  What  Russia  greatly  needs  is  :i  class  of  enter- 
prising agriculturists,  who  would  live  upon  their  laud. 


A   JOURNEY    THROUGH    CENTRAL   RUSSIA.  32] 

and  devote  themselves  to  its  proper  development.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  journey,  I  did  not  notice  ten  country  resi- 
dences. The  road,  however,  is  comparatively  new,  and  the 
old  highway,  via  Wilna  and  Smolensk,  which  it  has  super- 
ceded,  no  doubt  presents  a  better  picture  in  this  respeit 
Drainage,  manuring,  and  a  judicious  rotation  of  crops, 
would  work  wonders  with  such  a  mellow  and  bounteous 
soil.  Some  travellers  speak  of  the  waste  and  desolate  ap- 
pearance of  the  Russian  plains ;  the  French  describe  them 
as  a  savage  wilderness ;  but  they  are  in  fact  far  more  natu- 
rally productive  than  the  plains  of  Northern  Germany. 

The  road  to  Moscow  is  not  surpassed  by  any  highway  in 
the  world.  It  is  macadamized  for  the  whole  distance,  kept 
in  admirable  order,  deviates  but  little  from  a  right  line, 
and,  except  at  some  river-crossings,  has  no  grade  too  heavy 
for  a  railroad.  Build  six  or  eight  bridges  and  you  might 
lay  down  the  rails  upon  it,  from  Warsaw  to  Moscow.  At 
every  verst,  there  is  a  post  with  the  distance  from  both 
these  cities  and  St.  Petersburg,  and  from  the  first  station 
on  either  hand.  Each  verst,  again,  is  divided  into  fifths. 
The  station  houses  are  built  of  brick,  and  all  on  the  same 
plan.  The  house  fronts  the  road,  flanked  by  a  high  brick 
wall,  through  a  gate  in  which  you  enter  a  spacious  court 
yard,  surrounded  by  stables  and  the  dwellings  for  servants. 
In  the  main  building,  there  are  three  or  four  clean,  well- 
furnished  rooms  for  travellers,  who  find  everything  which 
they  may  need  except  beds.  The  Russians  carry  their  own 
bedding  \vith  them,  and  the  broad  sofas,  with  leather  cush- 
ions, make  excellent  couches.  Those  who  do  not  take  the 
diligence  are  obliged  to  have  a  pnfJnro^hna^  or  Govern 


322  TKAVELS    IN   POLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

ment  order  for  horses,  from  post  to  post,  as  in  Swodea.  A 
foreigner,  to  travel  in  this  style,  must  have  his  own  vehicle, 
and,  moreover,  must  know  a  little  of  the  language. 

On  the  third  morning,  we  reached  the  town  of  Bobruisk, 
u  the  Beresina.  It  was  some  distance  further  up  the  river 
at  the  bridge  of  Borisoff,  that  the  French  army  met  with 
such  a  terrible  disaster  during  the  retreat  from  Moscow. 
The  Beresina  is  now  a  deep,  full,  quiet  stream,  flowing  be- 
tween low,  curving  banks,  on  his  way  to  join  the  Dnieper. 
Below  the  town  are  some  beautiful  clumps  of  birch  and 
ash,  among  which  rises  the  round  red  mass  of  a  new  brick 
fort.  A  stalwart  soldier,  leaning  on  Crimean  crutches, 
begged  of  us  as  we  descended  to  the  bridge,  and  two  mus- 
cular, clean-limbed  grooms  stripped,  sprang  naked  upon 
their  horses,  and  swam  them  like  Tritons  in  the  centre  of 
the  river.  Three  more  stations  brought  us  to  the  Dnieper, 
at  the  town  of  Rogatcheff.  Here  he  is  already  a  strong 
stream,  and  the  flock  of  heavy,  flat-bottomed  barges 
moored  along  his  banks  had  no  doubt  seen  the  Black  Sea. 
The  town  is  a  small  but  lively  place.  A  stranger  is  struck 
with  the  great  width  of  the  streets  in  all  these  places, 
through  which  they  acquire  a  neat,  respectable  appearance, 
n  spite  of  the  low  houses.  The  frequency  of  fires  proba- 
bly gave  rise  to  this  method  of  building,  as  we  passed  two 
villages  which  were  more  than  half  in  ashes,  where  the  con 
flagration  had  been  stopped  by  the  road. 

After  passing  the  Dnieper,  the  marshes  cease,  and  the 
country  becomes  slightly  undulating — very  slightly,  indeed, 
but  still  perceptible  without  the  aid  of  a  theodolite.  The 
fir  is  less  and  less  frequent,  and  the  birch  increases  in  the 


A    JOUBNKV    THROltiU    <  KNTRAL   RUSSIA.  32i> 

jatne  proportion,  so  that  before  reaching  Moscow  the 
forests  are  almost  entirely  composed  of  this  delicate,  grace- 
ful, shivering  tree — the  scantily-clothed  Dryad  of  the 
North.  Its  hues  are  always  cold,  and  where  it  abounds 
one  cannot  have  full  faith  in  summer.  The  weather,  be 
sides,  had  changed,  and  in  place  of  the  sultry  air  of  War 
saw,  we  had  a  strong  north  wind,  with  a  temperature  of 
dnly  40°  in  the  mornings.  Our  overcoats  were  bearable  the 
whole  day,  and  a  thick  Scotch  plaid  was  no  unwelcome  ad- 
dition at  n^ght.  Nevertheless,  there  was  little  difference  in 
the  soil  and  vegetation,  and  the  silver-headed  rye  rolled  in 
as  rich  waves  as  ever,  to  break  upon  the  shores  of  harvest. 
On  Friday  we  entered  Old  Russia — Holy  Russia,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  in  the  fond  veneration  of  the  people. 
The  country  became  more  thickly  populated,  and  from 
every  village  rose  a  picturesque  church,  white  as  snow,  and 
crowned  with  as  many  bright  green  domes  and  spires  as  its 
proportions  would  allow.  These  gay,  graceful  structures, 
towering  at  intervals  above  the  birchen  groves,  and  spark- 
ling in  the  sunshine,  gave  a  peculiar  charm  to  the  otherwise 
monotonous  landscape.  The  Jews,  with  their  greasy  ring- 
lets, disappeared,  Polish  money  was  refused  at  the  stations, 
and  the  peasantry  showed  the  pure  Russian  type,  in  face 
and  costume.  Every  man  of  them  wore  his  beard  unshorn, 
and  the  commonest  visage  received  a  sort  of  character  and 
dignity  thereby.  Whenever  the  diligence  stopped,  a  com- 
pany of  venerable  and  very  dirty  figures  appeared  before 
UH,  oowing  incessantly  with  Oriental  gravity,  and  urging 
their  claims  to  charity  in  what  I  have  no  doubt  were  very 
choice  and  elegant  expressions.  They  wen-  pertinacious, 
but  not  clamorous,  and  it  was  impossible  to  look  anywhere 


824  TRAVELS    IN    POLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

within  thirty  degrees  of  them,  without  occasioning  new  de 
tnonstrations  of  reverence  and  supplication. 

After  leaving  the  streams  of  the  Dnieper  and  coming 
upon  those  of  the  Oka,  whose  waters  flow  with  the  Volga 
to  the  far  Caspian  Sea,  the  country  can  no  longer  be  called 
a  plain.  It  is  rather  a  rolling  prairie,  like  those  of  Southern 
Wisconsin,  but  with  still  gentler  undulations.  Our  horses 
dashed  down  the  gradual  descents  at  a  mad  gallop,  which 
carried  them  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  next  rise,  and  we  fre- 
quently accomplished  fifteen  versts  within  the  hour.  On 
Saturday  morning  we  breakfasted  at  Malo  Jaroslavitz, 
where  an  obelisk  has  been  erected  to  commemorate  Murat's 
defeat,  and  in  the  afternoon  reached  the  lively  little  town 
of  Podolsk,  on  the  great  southern  highway  from  Moscow  to 
Tula  and  Orel,  and  further  to  Odessa  and  the  Crimea.  We 
were  now  within  thirty-five  versts  of  Moscow,  which  we 
were  anxious  to  see  before  dark.  Five  days  and  nights  of 
travel  had  cramped  us  a  little,  but  we  felt  capable  of  as 
much  more  upon  such  a  superb  road.  The  sun  set  upon 
the  silvery  birchen  forests,  and  the  long  swells  and  slopes 
of  grain.  Heavy  clouds  covered  the  sky,  except  along  the 
north,  where  the  lurid  yellow  twilight  moved  slowly  around 
Inwards  sunrise,  and  we  were  sinking  into  a  wearied  sleep, 
when  a  long  line  of  dark  towers  and  Oriental  domes  ap 
peared  in  the  distance,  drawn  sharp  and  hard  against  the 
angry  lustre.  This  was  Moscow !  Ere  long  we  descended 
intc  the  valley  of  the  Moskva,  rattled  for  many  and  many 
a  verst  through  gloomy  streets,  caught  a  midnight  glimpse 
of  the  majestic  pile  of  the  Kremlin,  and  after  a  seemingly 
endless  cruize  in  a  Russian  droshky,  reached  the  welcome 
haven  of  a  good  hotel 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

A.    PANOBAMIC     VIEW     OF     MOSCO'V. 

_T  was  Madame  de  Stael,  I  believe,  who,  on  first  seeing 
Moscow,  exclaimed:  "Voild  Rome  Tartare!"  This  may 
have  been  true  before  the  destruction  of  the  ancient  city, 
but  it  would  hardly  apply  at  the  present  day.  In  its 
immense  extent  Moscow  may  well  rival  Rome,  as  in  this 
respect  it  is  surpassed  by  no  modern  capital  except  London  ; 
but,  although  its  Asiatic  character  is  quite  as  strongly 
marked  as  that  of  Constantinople,  it  is  by  no  means  Tartar. 
No  other  city  in  the  world  presents  so  cosmopolitan  an 
aspect.  The  gilded  domes  of  Lucknow — the  pagodas  of 
China — Byzantine  churches — Grecian  temples — palaces  in 
the  style  of  Versailles — heavy  inexpressive  German  build- 
ings— wooden  country  cottages — glaring  American  signs — 
boulevards,  gardens,  silent  lanes,  roaring  streets,  open 
markets,  Turkish  bazaars,  French  cafes,  German  beer 
cellars,  and  Chinese  tea-houses — all  are  found  here,  not 
grouped  exclusively  into  separate  cantons,  but  mixed  and 
jumbled  together,  until  Europe  and  Asia,  the  Past  and 


326  TRAVELS   IN    POLAND   AND   KUSSIA. 

Present,  the  Old  W  >rld  and  the  New,  are  so  blen  Jed 
and  confounded,  that  it  is  impossible  to  sa)  which  pre- 
dominates. Another  city  so  bizarre  and  so  picturesque  as 
Moscow  does  not  exist.  To  call  it  Russian  would  be  too 
narrow  a  distinction :  it  suggests  the  world. 

Its  position,  near  the  imaginary  line  where  one  continent 
i»  merged  into  the  other,  accounts  for  this.  The  waters  ol 
the  Moskva  seek  an  Asiatic  Sea,  yet  the  nearest  ports  of 
the  city  are  those  of  Central  Europe.  Its  fibres  of  com 
merce  branch  eastward  across  the  Tartar  steppes  to  Mon- 
golia  and  China:  southward  to  Samarcand  and  Bokhara, 
to  Cashmere  and  Persia ;  northward  to  Archangel  and  the 
Polar  Ocean;  and  on  the  west,  to  all  the  rest  cf  Europe. 
The  race  who  founded  it  came  from  the  south-east,  aid 
brought  with  them  the  minaret  and  the  swellirg  Oriental 
dome,  the  love  of  gilding  and  glaring  colors ;  :"ts  religion 
came  from  Constantinople,  with  the  Byzantine  pillar  and 
the  Greek  cross ;  and  the  founder  of  Russian  power  learned 
his  trade  in  the  West.  On  every  one  of  its  thousand  spires 
and  domes  glitters  the  crescent  (as  a  token  that  they  were 
once  in  the  hands  of  the  Tartars),  but  now  surmounted  by 
the  triumphant  cross.  At  its  southern  end  the  muezzin 
calls  to  prayer  from  the  roof  of  his  mosque,  while  at  the 
northern,  the  whistle  of  the  locomotive  announces  the 
departure  of  the  train  for  St.  Petersburg. 

When  you  overlook  the  city  from  an  elevated  point,  it 
loses  nothing  of  its  originality  in  the  broader  compass  of 
your  vision.  On  the  contrary,  many  clashing  impressions 
naturally  arising  from  the  incongruity  of  its  features,  are 
forgotten,  and  the  vast,  <lu//.ling  panorama  assumes  a  grand 


A    PA  N<  iK  A  MI.     VIKW    OF    MOSCOW  327 

dramatic  character.  It  is  an  immense  show,  gotten  up  foi 
a  temporary  effect,  and  you  can  scarcely  believe  that  it  may 
not  be  taken  to  pieces  and  removed  as  soon  as  its  purpose 
has  been  attained.  Whence  this  array  of  grass-green 
roofs,  out  of  which  rise  by  hundreds  spires  and  towers 
stranger  and  more  fantastic  than  ever  were  builded  in  a 
mad  architect's  dream  ?  Whence  these  gilded  and  silvered 
domes,  which  blind  your  eyes  with  reflected  suns,  and 
seem  to  dance  and  totter  in  their  own  splendor,  as  you 
move  ?  It  can  be  no  city  of  trade  and  government,  of 
pleasure  and  scandal,  of  crime  and  religion,  which  you  look 
upon  ;  it  was  built  when  the  Arabian  Xights  were  true, 
and  the  Prince  of  the  Hundred  Islands  reigns  in  its  central 
palace. 

And  yet  there  are  few  cities  in  Europe  (Berlin  excepted) 
which  have  not  greater  advantages  of  position  than  Mos- 
cow. Accident  or  whim  seems  to  have  suggested  the 
choice  of  the  site  to  its  founders.  The  little  Moskva  is  not 
navigable  in  summer  for  steamers  drawing  eighteen  inches 
of  water.  It  is  an  insignificant  tributary,  not  of  the  Volga, 
but  of  the  Oka,  which  falls  into  the  Volga  at  Nijni- 
Novgorod,  and  here  is  the  spot  pointed  at  by  Nature  for 
the  commercial  emporium  of  Central  Russia  and  Western 
Asia.  But  in  the  days  of  Vladimir,  this  point  was  too  near 
the  Tartars,  and  though  Peter  the  Great  at  one  time 
seriously  designed  to  make  it  his  capital,  his  rivalry  with 
Sweden,  and  his  desire  to  approach  Europe  rather  than 
Asia,  finally  prevailed,  and  St.  Petersburg  arose  from  the 
Finland  swamps.  Moscow,  since  then,  has  lost  the  rank 
and  advantages  of  a  capital,  although  it  continues  to  be 


328  TKAVELS   IN   POLAND   AND    RUSSIA. 

the  Holy  City  of  the  Russians,  and  the  favorite  residence 
of  many  of  the  ancient  noble  families.  The  rapid  growth 
of  the  manufacturing  interest  in  this  part  of  Russia  lias 
recently  given  it  a  start,  but  its  growth  is  slow,  and  h> 
population  (350,000)  is  probably  not  much  greater  than  id 
the  days  of  Ivan  or  Michael  Romanoff. 

The  Moskva,  in  passing  through  the  city,  divides  it  into 
two  unequal  parts,  about  three-fourths  occupying  the 
northern  bank  and  one-fourth  the  southern.  The  river  is 
so  tortuous  that  it  may  be  said  to  flow  toward  all  points  of 
the  compass  before  reaching  the  Kremlin,  whence  its  course 
is  eastward  toward  the  Oka.  In  the  centre,  and  rising 
directly  from  the  water,  is  the  isolated  hill  of  the  Kremlin, 
a  natural  mound,  about  a  mile  in  circumference,  and  les.s 
than  a  hundred  feet  in  height.  On  either  side  of  it,  the 
northern  bank  ascends  very  gradually  for  the  distance  of  :i 
mile  or  more,  where  it  melts  into  the  long  undulations  of 
the  country.  On  the  southern  side  of  the  Moskva,  at  the 
south-western  extremity  of  the  city,  are  the  Sparrow  Hills, 
which,  running  nearly  due  east  and  west,  form  a  chord  to 
the  great  winding  curve  of  the  river,  and  inclose  the  whole 
southern  portion  of  Moscow,  which  is  built  on  the  level 
bottom  between  it  and  their  bases.  These  hills  are  steep 
and  abrupt  on  the  northern  side,  and  though  rising  less 
than  two  hundred  feet  above  the  water,  overtop  every 
other  elevation,  far  and  near.  Every  stranger  who  wishes 
to  see  the  panorama  of  Moscow  should  first  mount  the 
tower  of  Ivan  Veliki,  on  the  Kremlin,  and  then  make  an 
excursion  to  the  Sparrow  Hills. 

The  conflagration  of  181'J,  though,  with  the  exception  ol 


A   PAXORAMIO   VIEW    OF   MOSCOW.  329 

the  Kitni  Gorod,  or  Chinese  City,  which  wholly  escaped, 
it  left  scarcely  fifty  houses  standing,  contributed  very  little 
to  modernize  the  aspect  of  Moscow.  A  few  of  tne  princi- 
pal streets  were  widened,  and  two  concentric  circles  of 
boulevards  introduced  in  the  restoration  of  the  city,  but, 
most  of  the  old  streets  and  lanes  were  rebuilt  on  the  same 
plan,  and  in  much  the  same  character  as  before.  Inside  the 
outer  boulevard,  which  embraces  the  business  portion  of 
the  city,  the  houses  are  almost  exclusively  of  brick,  covered 
with  stucco,  and  painted  yellow,  light  blue,  pink,  or  pale 
red.  Outside  of  it,  for  many  a  verst,  stretch  the  rows  of 
private  residences,  interspersed  with  garden  plots,  while 
the  outskirts  are  made  up  of  the  houses  of  the  poorer 
classes,  one-story  cottages  of  boards  or  logs,  gaudily  painted, 
as  in  the  country  villages.  Many  of  the  better  dwellings 
are  also  of  wood,  which  material  is  recommended  both  by 
its  cheapness  and  comfort.  Stone  is  scarce  and  dear,  and 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  sufficient  to  pave  the  streets  pro- 
perly. A  shallow  bed  of  small  cobble-stones,  so  lightly 
rolled  that  it  soon  becomes  uneven,  jolts  the  life  out  of 
you,  even  in  summer,  but  in  the  spring  it  is  said  to  be  fai 
worse. 

The  diameter  of  the  city,  from  north  to  south,  cannot 
be  less  than  eight  miles,  while  its  circumference  will  la  I) 
little  short  of  twenty-five.  Its  low  houses,  broad,  rambling 
streets,  large  interior  courts,  market-places,  and  gardens, 
account  for  this  extent.  It  is  truly  a  city  of  magnificent 
distances,  and  its  people  have  their  own  peculiar  ideas  of 
what  is  near  and  what  is  far.  I  was  urc-atly  taken  in  until 
[discovered  this  fact.  "Close  at  hand"  proved  to  be  & 


330  TRAVELS  IN  POLAND  AND  RUSSIA. 

mile  off,  and*  when  one  man  says  of  another,  ""We  are 
neighbors,"  yo  i  may  depend  that  they  live  an  hour's  walk 
apait.  Another  difficulty  is,  there  are  so  few  right  lines 
that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  go  directly  from  one  given 
point  to  another.  Your  course  is  either  a  right  angle 
semicircle,  an  elliptical  curve,  or  the  letter  S.  I  have  had 
considerable  practice  in  orientiren^  but  have  never  yet  had 
so  much  trouble  to  learn  the  topography  of  a  town.  It  is 
full  of  those  scarcely  perceptible  curves  and  deflections 
which  gradually  carry  you  out  of  your  direction,  while  you 
imagine  you  are  going  straight  ahead.  If  you  have  ever 
tried  to  trundle  a  wheelbarrow  to  a  mark  blindfold,  you 
will  know  how  easily  one  may  be  baffled  in  this  way. 

Just  this  circumstance-,  however,  prolongs  the  impression 
of  novelty,  which,  to  an  old  traveller  like  myself,  is  a  rare 
charm.  There  are  reminiscences  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
which  I  have  already  seen,  but,  in  addition,  a  stamp  and  cha- 
racter of  picturesque  incongruity  entirely  peculiar  to  Mos- 
cow. But  two  streets — the  Twerskaia  Oulitza,  leading  from 
the  Kremlin  towards  the  St.  Petersburg  gate,  and  the  Kuz- 
netskoi  Most,  or  Smiths'  Bridge — have  a  busy  metropolitan 
aspect,  and  preserve  the  same  character  throughout  their 
whole  extent ;  the  others  are  full  of  transformations  and 
surprises.  You  pass  between  palaces,  with  lofty  porticos, 
and  find  yourself  in  a  country  village  ;  still  further,  you 
enter  a  thronged  market-place  ;  beyond  are  churches  with 
blue  domes,  bespangled  with  golden  stars;  then  rows  of 
shops.  displaying  fashionable  European  goods  and  wares 
These  cease  suddenly,  and  you  are  in  the  midst  of  gardens, 
but  not  a  hundred  paces  from  thnii  irrren  seclusion  you  fine1 


A    rAXOKAMIC    VIEW    OF    MOSCOW.  38' 

yourself  in  the  bustle  of  an  Oriental  bazaar.  In  Moscow 
no  man,  except  an  old  inhabitant,  knows  what  a  street  may 
bring  forth. 

The  population,  also,  exhibits  a  corresponding  diversity 
rhe  European  gentlemen,  with  cylinder  hats  and  tight  kid 
gloves,  do  not  appear  more  out  of  place  under  those  cres- 
cent-tipped domes  of  gold  than  the  sallow  Persians  and 
silken-robed  Armenians  LrsMe  yonder  French  palace.  The 
Russian  peasant,  with  his  thick  brown  beard,  red  shirt,  and 
wide  trowsers  stuck  into  his  boots,  elbows  you  on  the  nar- 
row sidewalk.  After  him  comes  a  lady,  with  the  smallest 
of  bonnets  and  the  largest  of  crinolines,  respectfully  fol- 
lowed by  a  man-servant,  whose  presence  attests  her  respec- 
tability. Alone,  she  would  be  subject  to  suspicion.  A 
fair  Circassian,  with  blue  eyes  and  the  build  of  an  Adonis, 
next  meets  you ;  then,  perhaps,  a  Tartar  in  his  round  cap 
of  black  lamb's  wool,  or  a  Chinese,  resembling  a  faulty 
image  of  yellow  clay,  cast  aside  before  the  true  Adam  was 
inade ;  then  European  bagmen,  smirking  and  impertinent 
a  Russian  nurse,  with  a  head-dress  like  the  spread  tail  of  a 
red  peacock  ;  a  priest  in  flowing  hair  and  black  cassock ;  a 
money-changer,  whose  beardless  face  proclaims  his  neuter 
gender :  a  company  of  istvostchiks  (hackmeu)  in  squat 
black  hats  and  long  blue  caftans  ;  officers  in  the  imperial 
uniform ;  firemen  in  gilded  helmets,  saintly  old  beggar* 
children  in  natural  costume,  fallen  women,  gypsies,  cossack 
— all  succeed  each  other  in  endless  and  ever-changing  pro- 
cession. 

The  best  point  for  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  city  is  frorc 
i,he  tower  of  Ivan  Veliki,  on  the  Kremlin.     This  is  a  belfry 


332  TRAVELS    IX    POLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

200  feet  high,  surmounted  by  a  golden  dome.  When  you 
have  passed  the  Tzar  Kolokol,  or  King  of  Bells,  which  rest* 
on  a  granite  pedestal  at  its  base,  and  have  climbed  thrc  ugh 
pome  half  a  dozen  bell  chambers  to  the  upper  gallery,  you 
see  nearly  the  whole  of  Moscow — for  the  northern  part 
goes  beyond  your  horizon.  On  all  other  sides  it  stretches 
far,  far  away,  leaving  only  a  narrow  ring  of  dark-green 
woods  between  it  and  the  sky.  The  Moskva  twists  like  a 
wounded  snake  at  your  feet,  his  little  stream  almost  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  immense  sea  of  the  pale-green  roofs.  This 
vast  green  ring  is  checkered  with  the  pink  and  yellow  fronts 
of  the  buildings  which  rise  above  the  general  level,  while 
all  over  it,  far  and  near,  singly  or  in  clusters,  shoot  up  the 
painted,  reed-like  towers,  and  open  to  the  day  the  golden 
and  silver  blossoms  of  their  domes.  How  the  sun  flashes 
back,  angrily  or  triumphantly,  from  the  dazzling  hemi- 
spheres, until  this  northern  capital  shines  in  more  than 
tropic  fire !  What  a  blaze,  and  brilliance,  and  rainbow 
variegation  under  this  pale-blue  sky ! 

The  view  from  the  Sparrow  Hills  is  still  more  beautiful. 
You  are  inclosed  with  a  belt  of  birch  and  pine  woods. 
Under  you  the  river  reflects  the  sky,  and  beyond  it  sweep 
blossoming  meadows  up  to  the  suburban  gardens,  over 
which  rises  the  long  line  of  the  gilded  city,  whose  neares 
domes  seem  to  flash  in  your  very  face,  and  whose  farthest 
towers  fade  against  the  sky.  Their  long  array  fills  one- 
third  of  the  horizon.  I  counted  between  five  and  sir  hun- 
dred, one-third  of  which  were  either  gilded  or  silvered. 
The  dome  of  the  new  cnthedral,  as  large  as  that  of  St 
Paul's,  London,  burned  in  the  centre  like  a  globe  of  flame — 


A    PANOfJA.MIC    VIHW    OF    MOSCOW.  33S 

like  the  sun  itself,  with  stars  and  constellations  sparkling 
around  it  far  and  wide.  From  this  point  the  advanced 
guard  of  Xapoleon's  army  Hrst  saw  Moscow — avast,  silent, 
glittering  city,  fired  by  the  sunset,  and  with  the  seeds  oi" 
a  more  awful  splendor  in  its  heart.  No  wonder  that  the 
soldiers  stood  still,  by  a  spontaneous  impulse,  grounded  their 
arms,  and  exclaimed,  as  one  man  :  "  Moscow !  Moscow !" 

I  saw  this  wonderful  picture  on  a  still  sultry,  afternoon 
The  woods  and  meadows,  the  thousand  towers  of  the  city, 
were  bathed  in  bright  sunshine ;  but  beyond  the  lattei 
lowered,  black  as  ink,  a  pile  of  thunder-clouds.  The 
threatening  background  rose,  letting  fall  a  shifting  curtain 
of  dark  gray,  from  the  feet  of  which  whirled  clouds  of 
tawny  dust,  veiling  the  splendor  of  the  distant  domes.  As 
the  storm  advanced,  columns  of  dust  arose,  here  and  there, 
all  over  the  city ;  a  shadow,  as  of  night,  crept  across  it, 
leaving  only  the  nearer  spires  to  blaze  with  double  splen- 
dor against  the  black  chaos.  Presently  the  more  distant 
portions  of  the  city  were  blotted  out.  The  brighter  towers 
remained  for  a  time  visible,  shining  spectrally  through  the 
falling  cloud,  and  seeming  to  be  removed  far  back  into  the 
depths  of  the  atmosphere.  The  sound  of  hail  and  rain, 
crashing  on  the  metal  roofs,  reached  our  ears ;  the  last 
golden  dome  stood  yet  a  moment  in  the  sunshine,  and  then 
everything  swam  in  a  chaos  of  dust  and  storm.  So  veil  by 
veil  fell  over  the  magical  scene,  and  as  the  whirlwind 
reached  us,  a  void,  black  and  impenetrable,  hid  it  from  oui 
eyes.  We  had  again  witnessed  the  destruction  of  Moscow 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE     KREMLIN. 

IF  Moscow  is  the  Mecca  of  the  Russians,  the  Kremlin  is  ha 
Kaaba.  Within  its  ancient  walls  is  gathered  all  that  is 
holiest  hi  religion  or  most  cherished  in  historical  tradition. 
Kiev  and  Novgorod  retain  but  a  dim  halo  of  their  former 
sanctity ;  their  glory  lies  wholly  in  the  Past.  The  king 
doms  of  which  they  were  the  centres  had  ceased  to  exi>t 
before  the  foundation  of  Russian  power.  On  the  hill  of 
the  Kremlin  was  first  planted  that  mighty  tree  whose 
branches  now  overshadow  two  Continents.  The  fact  that 
Tartar,  Swede,  and  Frenchman  have  laid  their  axes  at  its 
very  root,  without  being  able  to  lop  off  a  single  bough, 
though  the  world  awaited  its  fall,  only  endears  this  spot 
the  more  to  the  Russian  people,  and  strengthens  their 
<aperstitious  faith  in  the  Divine  protection  vouchsafed  to  it. 
The  Tartar  planted  his  crescent  on  its  holy  spires,  and  there 
it  still  glitters,  but  under  the  conquering  cross.  Napoleon 
housed  iu  its  ancient  palace,  and  a  thousand  of  his  cannon 
are  now  piled  in  the  court-yard.  Its  very  gates  are  pro 


THE   KREMLIN.  836 

tected  by  miracles,  and  the  peasant  from  a  distant  prcnince 
enters  them  with  much  the  same  feeling  as  a  Jewish  pilgrim 
enters  the  long-lost  City  of  Zion. 

The  Kremlin  hill  stands  very  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the 
city.  It  is  triangular  in  form,  the  longest  side  facing  the 
Moskva,  about  a  mile  in  circumference  and  somewhat  less 
than  a  hundred  feet  in  height.  Adjoining  it  on  the  east  is 
the  Kitai  Gorod  (Chinese  City),  still  inclosed  within  ita 
ancient  walls.  The  original  walls  of  the  Kremlin  were 
built  by  Demetrius  Donskoi,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and 
though  frequently  repaired,  if  not  wholly  rebuilt,  since  that 
time,  they  still  retain  their  ancient  character.  Rising 
directly  from  the  Moskva,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  on  the 
southern  side,  they  climb  it  at  either  end,  and  crown  it  on 
the  north.  Thus,  when  you  stand  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  river,  you  see  before  you  the  long  notched  wall,  inter- 
rupted with  picturesque  Tartar  towers,  like  an  antique  frame 
to  the  green  slope  of  the  hill,  whose  level  top  bears  aloft 
its  crown  of  palaces,  churches,  and  towers.  This  is  the  only 
general  view  one  gets  of  the  Kremlin,  although  its  clustered 
golden  domes  are  visible  from  almost  every  part  of  the  city 
There  was  formerly  a  lake-like  moat  around  the  northern 
side  of  the  hill ;  but  Alexander  I.  drained  and  planted  it 
and  it  is  now  a  pleasant  garden. 

The  main  entrance  is  at  the  north-eastern  angle,  through 
a  double-towered  portal,  called  the  Sunday  Gate.  As  I 
propose  acting  as  a  valet  de  place  for  my  fellow-traveller- 
readers,  I  shall  describe  to  them  the  notable  sights  of  the 
Kremlin,  in  the  order  in  which  they  meet  us.  We  shall 
not  enter,  therefore,  without  |>ausing  :i  moment  before  this 


836  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

gate,  to  inspect  more  closely  a  little  chapei,  or  rathei 
shrine,  built  against  the  wall,  between  two  archways.  Be- 
fore the  shrine  is  a  platform,  thronged  with  a  bare-headed 
crowd,  whose  heads  are  continually  bobbing  up  and  dowu 
as  they  cross  themselves.  Every  one  who  passes,  going  in 
or  out,  does  the  same,  and  many  an  officer,  grave  citizen 
or  resplendent  lady  descends  from  the  droshky,  presses 
through  the  throng,  and  falls  on  his  or  her  knees  before  the 
holy  picture  inside  the  sanctuary.  We  press  in,  among 
hackmen,  beggars,  merchants,  and  high  officials,  all  so  in- 
tent on  their  manipulations  that  they  do  not  even  see  us, 
and  finally  reach  a  niche  lighted  with  silver  lamps,  before 
a  screen  dazzling  with  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones.  A 
high-born  lady  in  silk  and  lace,  and  a  lousy-bearded  serf 
are  kneeling  side  by  side,  and  kissing  with  passionate  devo 
tion  the  glass  cover  over  a  Byzantine  mother  and  child,  of 
dark  mulatto  complexion,  whose  hands  and  faces  alone  are 
visible  through  the  gilded  and  jeweled  mantles.  This  is  the 
"Iberian  Mother  of  God" — a  miraculous  picture,  which, 
after  working  wonders  on  Georgia  and  on  Mount  Athos, 
has  for  the  last  two  hundred  years  been  the  protectress  of 
the  Moscovites.  Her  aid  is  invoked  by  high  and  low,  in 
all  the  circumstances  of  life,  and  I  doubt  whether  any  other 
shrine  in  the  world  is  the  witness  of  such  general  and  so 
much  real  devotion. 

Once  within  the  Sunday  Gate,  we  see  before  us  the  long 
Krasnoi  Ploshad,  or  Red  Square  stretching  southward  to 
the  bank  of  the  Moskva.  Close  on  our  right  towers  the 
gray  wall  of  the  Kremlin — for,  although  on  the  hill,  we  are 
not  yet  fairly  within  tin-  snc.rcd  citadel — while  on  the  left, 


THE     KREMLIN.  337 

parallel  to  it,  is  the  long,  low  front  of  the  Gostinnoi  Z>vor, 
>r  Great  Bazaar.  In  the  centre  of  the  square  is  a  bronze 
monument  to  Minim  and  Pojarski,  the  Russian  heroes, 
who  in  1610  aroused  the  people,  stormed  Moscow,  and 
drove  out  Vladislas  of  Poland,  who  had  been  called  to  the 
throne  by  the  Boyards.  But  for  this  act  the  relative, 
destiny  of  the  two  powers  might  have  been  reversed. 
The  Russians,  therefore,  deservedly  honor  the  memory  of 
the  sturdy  butcher  of  Nijni  Novgorod,  who,  like  the 
Roman  Ciceronaccio,  seems  to  have  been  the  master-spirit 
of  the  Revolution.  He  is  represented  as  addressing  Po- 
jarski, the  General,  who  sits  before  him,  listening,  one  hand 
on  his  sword.  The  figures  are  colossal,  and  full  of  fire  and 
vigor.  A  short  distance  beyond  this  monument  is  a  small 
circular  platform  of  masonry,  which  is  said  to  have  been  a 
throne,  or  public  judgment-seat,  of  the  early  Tzars. 

Proceeding  down  the  square  to  its  southern  extremity, 
we  halt  at  last  before  the  most  astonishing  structure  our 
eyes  have  ever  beheld.  What  is  it  ? — a  church,  a  pavilion, 
or  an  immense  toy  ?  All  the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  all  the 
forms  and  combinations  which  straight  and  curved  lines  can 
produce,  are  here  compounded.  It  seems  to  be  the  product 
of  some  architectural  kaleidoscope,  in  which  the  most  in 
congruous  things  assume  a  certain  order  and  system,  for 
surely  such  another  bewildering  pile  does  not  exist.  It  is 
not  beautiful,  for  Beauty  requires  at  least  a  suggestion  of 
symmetry,  and  here  the  idea  of  proportion  or  adaptation 
is  wholly  lost.  Neither  is  the  effect  offensive,  because  the 
maze  of  colors,  in  which  red,  green,  and  gold,  predominate, 
attracts,  and  cajoles  the  eye.  The  purposed  incongruity  of 


838  TRAVELS  IN  POLAHJU  AND  RUSSIA. 

the  building  is  seen  in  the  minutest  details,  and  where  there 
is  an  accidental  resemblance  hi  form,  it  is  balanced  by  a 
difference  in  color. 

This  is  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Basil,  built  during  the  reign 
of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  who  is  said  to  have  been  so  charmed 
with  the  work,  that  he  caused  the  eyes  of  the  architect  to 
be  blinded,  to  prevent  him  from  ever  building  another 
such.  The  same  story,  however,  is  told  of  various  build 
ings,  clocks,  and  pieces  of  mechanism,  in  Europe,  and  ia 
doubtless  false.  Examining  the  Cathedral  more  closely, 
we  find  it  to  be  an  agglomeration  of  towers,  no  two  of 
which  are  alike,  either  in  height,  shape,  or  any  other  par- 
ticular. Some  are  round,  some  square,  some  hexagonal, 
some  octagonal :  one  ends  in  a  pyramidal  spire,  another  in 
a  cone,  and  others  in  bulging  domes  of  the  most  fantastic 
pattern — twisted  in  spiral  bands  of  yellow  and  green  like 
an  ancient  Moslem  turban,  vertically  ribbed  with  green  and 
silver,  checkered  with  squares  of  blue  and  gold,  covered 
with  knobbed  scales,  like  a  pine-cone,  or  with  overlapping 
leaves  of  crimson,  purple,  gold,  and  green.  Between  the 
bases  of  the  : ,» .vers  galleries  are  introduced,  which,  again, 
differ  in  style  and  ornament  as  much  as  the  towers  them- 
selves. The  interior  walls  are  covered  with  a  grotesque 
maze  of  painting,  consisting  of  flower-pots,  thistles,  roses, 
sines,  birds,  beasts,  and  scroll-work,  twined  together  in 
inextricable  confusion,  as  we  often  see  in  Byzantine  capitals 
and  friezes. 

The  interior  of  the  Cathedral  is  no  less  curious  than  the 
outside.  Every  to  \vi-r  incloses  a  chapel,  so  that  twelve  or 
fifteen  saints  here  have  their  shrines  under  one  roof,  yet 


THE    R.REMLIN.  339 

enjoy  the  tapers,  the  incense,  and  the  prayers  of  their  wor- 
shippers in  private,  no  one  interfering  with  the  other.  The 
chapels,  owing  to  their  narrow  bases  and  great  li eight,  re- 
»ernble  flues.  Their  sides  are  covered  with  sacred  frescoes, 
and  all  manner  of  ornamental  painting  on  a  golden  ground, 
and  as  you  look  up  the  diminishing  shaft,  the  colossal  fact- 
of  Christ,  the  Virgin,  or  the  protecting  Saint,  stares  down 
upon  you  from  the  hollow  of  the  capping  dome.  The  cen- 
tral tower  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  high,  while  the 
diameter  of  the  chapel  inside  it  cannot  be  more  than  thirty 
feet  at  the  base.  I  cannot  better  describe  this  singulai 
structure  than  by  calling  it  the  Apotheosis  of  Chimneys. 

Let  us  now  turn  back  a  few  steps,  and  pass  through  the 
Kremlin  wall  by  the  Spass  Vbrota,  or  Gate  of  the  Re- 
deemer. This  is  even  more  peculiarly  sacred  than  the 
chapel  of  the  Iberian  Mother.  Over  the  hollow  arch  hangs 
a  picture  of  the  Saviour,  which  looks  with  benignity  upon 
the  Russians,  but  breathes  fire  and  thunder  upon  their  foes. 
The  Tartars,  so  says  tradition,  have  been  driven  back  again 
and  again  from  this  gate  by  miraculous  resistance,  and, 
though  the  French  entered  at  last,  all  their  attempts  to 
blow  it  up  were  in  vain.  The  other  entrance,  the  Gate  of 
St.  Nicholas  has  also  its  picture,  but  of  lesser  sanctity. 
Here  the  French  succeeded  in  cracking  the  arch,  as  far  as 
the  picture-frame,  where  the  rent  suddenly  stopped.  No 
man  dare  pass  through  the  Gate  of  the  Redeemer  without 
uncovering  his  head — not  even  the  Emperor.  The  com- 
mon Russians  commence  at  twenty  paces  off,  and  very 
few  of  them  pass  through  the  Red  Square,  on  their  way  to 
and  from  the  Moskva,  without  turning  towards  the  Gate, 


840  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

bowing,  and  crossing  themselves.  This  is  not  the  only 
shrine  in  Moscow  whose  holiness  irradiates  a  wide  circle 
around  it  I  have  frequently  seen  men  performing  their 
devotions  in  the  market-place  or  the  middle  of  the  street, 
«md,  by  following  the  direction  of  their  eyes,  have  dis- 
3overed-iat  a  considerable  distance,  the  object  of  reverence. 
At  last  we  tread  the  paved  court  of  the  Kremlin.  Before 
us  rises  the  tower  of  Ivan  Veliki,  whose  massive,  sturdy 
walls  seem  to  groan  under  its  load  of  monster  bells.  Be- 
yond it  are  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Michael,  the  Church  of  the 
Assumption,  and  the  ancient  church  of  the  Tzars,  all  crowded 
with  tiaras  of  gilded  domes.  To  the  right  rises  another 
cluster  of  dark-blue,  pear-shaped  domes,  over  the  House  of 
the  Holy  Synod,  while  the  new  Palace  (Granovitaya  Palata), 
with  its  heavy  French  front  and  wings,  above  which 

"  The  light  aerial  gallery,  golden-railed, 
Burns  like  a  fringe  of  fire," 

fills  up  the  background.  The  Tartar  towers  of  the  Krem 
lin  wall  shoot  up,  on  our  left,  from  under  the  edge  of  the 
platform  whereon  we  stand,  and  away  and  beyond  them 
glitters  the  southern  part  of  the  wonderful  city — a  vast 
semicircle  of  red,  green,  and  gold.  I  know  not  when  this 
picture  is  most  beautiful — when  it  blinds  you  in  the  glare 
of  sunshine,  when  the  shadows  of  clouds  soften  its  piercing 
colors  and  extinguish  half  its  reflected  fires,  when  evening 
wraps  it  in  a  violet  mist,  repainting  it  with  sober  tints,  or 
when  it  lies  pale  and  gray,  yet  sprinkled  with  points  of  sil- 
ver light,  under  the  midnight  moon. 

At  the  foot  of  the  tower  stands  on  a  granite  pedestal  tne 


THE     KREMLIN.  341 

Tzar  Kolokol,  or  Emperor  of  Bells,  whose  renown  is  world- 
wide. It  was  cast  by  order  of  the  Empress  Amu-  in  1730, 
but  was  broken  seven  years  afterward,  through  the  burn- 
ing of  the  wooden  tower  in  which  it  hung.  It  is  a  little 
over  21  feet  in  hight,  22  feet  in  diameter  at  the  bottom, 
weighs  120  tons,  and  the  estimated  value  of  the  gold,  sil- 
ver, and  copper  contained  in  it  is  $1,500,000.  In  one  of  the 
lower  stories  of  the  tower  hangs  another  bell  east  more 
than  a  century  before  the  Tzar  Kolokol,  and  weighing  64 
tons.  Its  iron  tongue  is  swung  from  side  to  side  by  the 
united  exertions  of  three  men.  It  is  only  rung  thrice  a 
year,  and  when  it  speaks  all  other  bells  are  silent.  To  those 
who  stand  near  the  tower,  the  vibration  of  the  air  is  said 
to  be  like  that  which  follows  the  simultaneous  discharge  of 
a  hundred  cannon.  In  the  other  stories  hang  at  least  forty 
or  fifty  bells,  varying  in  weight  from  36  tons  to  a  thousand 
pounds:  some  of  them  are  one-third  silver,  When  they 
all  sound  at  once,  as  on  Easter  morn,  the  very  tower  must 
rock  on  its  foundation.  In  those  parts  of  Russia  where  the 
Eastern  Church  is  predominant,  no  other  sect  is  allowed  to 
possess  bells.  In  Austria  the  same  prohibition  is  extended 
to  the  Protestant  churches.  The  sound  of  the  bell  is  a  part 
of  the  act  of  worship,  and  therefore  no  heterodox  tongue, 
though  of  iron,  must  be  permitted  to  preach  false  doctrine 
to  half  the  city. 

The  Empress  Anne  seems  to  have  had  a  fondness  for  mon- 
ster castings.  Turning  to  the  right  into  an  adjoining  court- 
yard, we  behold  a  tremendous  piece  of  artillery,  familiarly 
known  as  the  "  pocket-piece  "  of  this  Tzarina.  The  diameter 
of  the  bore  is  three  feet,  but  it  is  evident  that  the  gun 


342  TBAVELS   IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

never  could  have  been  used.  It  was  no  doubt  made  ioi 
show,  from  the  bronze  of  captured  cannon.  In  the  same 
court  are  arranged  the  spoils  of  1812,  consisting  of  nearly 
a  thousand  cannon,  French  and  German.  They  are  mostly 
small  field  pieces,  and  hence  make  but  little  display,  hi 
spite  of  their  number.  The  Turkish  and  Persian  guns, 
some  of  which  are  highly  ornamented,  occupy  the  opposite 
side  of  the  court,  and  are  much  the  finest  of  all  the  tro- 
phies here. 

We  will  now  enter  the  churches  in  the  palace  court. 
They  are  but  of  modern  dimensions,  and  very  plain,  out- 
wardly, except  in  their  crowns  of  far-shining  golden  domes. 
Undoubtedly  they  were  once  painted  in  the  style  of  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Basil,  but  the  rainbow  frescoes  are  new 
covered  with  a  uniform  coat  of  whitewash.  One  is  there- 
fore all  the  more  dazzled  by  the  pomp  and  glare  of  the  inte- 
rior. The  walls,  the  five  domes,  resting  on  four  tall  pillars 
at  their  intersections,  the  pillars  themselves,  everything  but 
the  floor,  is  covered  with  a  coating  of  flashing  gold ;  the 
ikonostast,  or  screen  before  the  Holy  of  Holies,  is  of  gilded 
silver  and  rises  to  the  roof;  the  altars  are  of  massive  silver, 
and  the  shrine-pictures  are  set  in  a  blaze  of  diamonds, 
emeralds,  and  rubies.  A  multitude  of  saints  are  painted  on 
the  walls,  and  seem  to  float  in  a  golden  sky.  And  not 
saints  alone,  but — strange  to  say — classic  philosophers  and 
historians.  Thucydides  and  Plutarch,  in  company  with  Sts. 
Anthony  and  Jerome  !  There  are  said  to  be  2,300  figures 
in  this  church,  which  is  much  more  than  the  number  of 
worshippers  who  can  find  place  within  it.  I  have  been 
there  on  Sunday,  when  it  was  thronged,  and  really  there 


THE   KREMLIN.  343 

was  less  diversity  of  visage,  costume,  and  character  among 
the  pictures  above  than  among  the  human  beings  below. 
It  was  a  wonderful  crowd !  I  could  have  picked  out  the 
representatives  of  fifty  nations  and  the  facial  stamp  of  three 
centuries.  The  singing  was  sublime.  The  choir  was  un- 
seen, behind  the  silver  screen,  and  the  sweetness  and  purit} 
e,-f  the  boy  sopranos  swelled  and  sank  like  a  chorus  of 
angels  heard  through  the  fitful  gusts  of  a  storm.  Devo 
tional  music  nowhere  receives  such  glorious  expression  as 
in  the  Russian  churches. 

The  Cathedral  of  the  Archangel  Michael,  but  a  few  paces 
distant  from  that  of  the  Assumption,  resembles  it  in  its  in- 
ternal structure.  It  is  more  dimly  lighted,  however,  the 
gold  is  not  so  glaring,  and,  in  place  of  the  army  of  saints, 
there  are  large  frescoes  of  Heaven,  Hell,  Judgment,  &c. 
On  the  floor,  arranged  in  rows,  are  the  sarcophagi  of  the 
early  Tzars,  from  Ivan  I.  to  Alexis,  father  of  Peter  the 
Great.  They  are  covered  with  dusty,  mouldering  palls  of 
cloth  or  velvet,  each  one  inscribed  with  his  name.  In  the 
middle  of  the  church  in  a  splendid  silver  coffin,  is  the  body 
of  a  boy  seven  or  eight  years  of  age,  which  is  universally 
believed  to  be  that  of  the  young  Demetrius,  the  last  prince 
of  the  race  of  Rurik,  who  was  put  to  death  by  Boris 
GudonofF.  The  lid  of  the  coffin  is  open,  and  on  the  inner 
side  is  a  portrait  of  the  boy,  in  a  frame  of  massive  gold 
studded  with  jewels.  The  body  is  wrapped  in  cloth  of 
gold,  and  a  cushion  covers  the  face.  The  attendant  priest 
was  about  to  remove  this  cushion,  when  our  guide  whis- 
pered to  me,  "  You  are  expected  to  kiss  the  forehead,"  and 
I  turned  away.  These  relics  are  ranked  among  the  holiest 


344  TRAVELS  IN  POLAND  AND  RUSSIA 

in  Moscow,  and  are  most  devoutly  worshipped,  although  it 
is  by  no  means  certain  that  they  belong  to  the  true  Deme- 
tiius. 

Close  at  hand  is  the  House  of  the  Holy  Synod,  and  as  w< 
are  accompanied  by  our  obliging  Consul,  Col.  Claxton,  to 
whom  all  doors  are  open,  we  are  admitted  into  the  sanctu- 
ary where  are  preserved  the  robes  worn  by  Russian  Patri 
archs  during  the  last  six  hundred  years,  as  well  as  the  silvei 
jars  containing  the  sacred  oil,  used  for  solemn  sacraments 
throughout  the  whole  Empire.  The  robes  are  of  the  hea- 
viest silk,  inwoven  with  gold  and  silver  thread,  and  so  sown 
with  jewels  that  they  would  stand  stiff  upright  with  their 
own  richness.  The  Patriarchs  seem  to  have  had  an  espe- 
cial fondness  for  pearls,  of  which,  in  some  instances,  the 
embroidered  figures  are  entirely  composed.  In  strong  con- 
trast to  these  dazzling  vestments  are  the  coarse  brown  hat 
and  mantle  of  the  Patriarch  Nichon.  The  holy  oil  is 
preserved  in  thirty-three  jars,  which,  as  well  as  the  larger 
vessels  used  in  preparing  it,  are  of  massive  silver.  About 
two  gallons  a  year  are  necessary  to  supply  Russia.  The 
council  hall  of  the  Holy  Synod  is  in  the  same  building.  It 
is  evidently  the  ancient  place  of  assembly — a  long  low  room, 
with  sacred  frescoes  on  a  golden  ground,  and  raised  seat? 
along  the  wall  for  the  principal  personages. 

Let  us  now  turn  from  the  saci  td  to  the  secular  sights  of 
the  Kremlin,  although  some  of  the  latter  are  not  less  sacred, 
to  Russian  eyes.  The  palace  doors  open  to  the  special  per 
mit  presented  by  Col.  Claxton,  and  we  ascend  the  broad, 
noble  staircase.  The  plain  exterior  of  the  building  gives 
no  hint  of  the  splendors  within.  I  have  seen  all  the  palaoa* 


THE   KREMLIN.  345 

of  Europe  (with  the  exception  of  the  Escurial),  but  I  can 
not  recall  one  in  which  the  highest  possible  magnificence  is 
so  subservient  to  good  taste,  as  here.  Inlaid  floors,  of  such 
beautiful  design  and  such  precious  wood,  that  you  tread 
jpon  them  with  regret;  capitals,  cornices,  and  ceiling- 
soffits  of  gold  ;  walls  overlaid  with  fluted  silk ;  giant  cande- 
labra of  silver  and  malachite,  and  the  soft  gleam  of  many- 
tinted  marbles,  combine  to  make  this  a  truly  Imperial 
residence.  The  grand  hall  of  St.  George,  all  in  white  and 
gold,  is  literally  incrusted  with  ornamented  carved-work ; 
that  of  St.  Alexander  Nevsky  is  sumptuous  in  blue  and 
gold ;  of  St.  Wladimar  in  crimson  and  gold  ;  while  in  that 
of  St.  Elizabeth,  the  walls  are  not  only  overlaid  with  gold, 
and  the  furniture  of  massive  silver,  but  in  the  centre  oi 
every  door  is  a  Maltese  cross,  formed  of  the  largest  dia- 
monds !  The  eye  does  not  tire  of  this  unwonted  splendor, 
nor  does  it  seem  difficult  to  dwell  even  in  such  dazzling  halls. 
In  a  lower  story  is  the  banqueting-hall,  hung  with  crimson 
velvet,  studded  with  golden  eagles.  Here  the  Emperor 
feasts  with  his  nobles  on  the  day  of  coronation — the  only 
occasion  on  which  it  is  used. 

The  dwelling  rooms  are  fitted  up  with  equal  magnifi- 
cence, except  those  occupied  by  the  Emperor  himself,  in 
which  the  furniture  is  very  plain  and  serviceable.  In  some 
of  these  rooms  we  found  everything  topsy-turvy.  Officers 
were  busy  in  taking  an  inventory  of  the  furniture,  even  to 
the  smallest  articles,  in  order  that  a  stop  may  be  put  to  the 
wholesale  plunder  which  has  been  carried  on  in  the  impe- 
rial household,  since  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great.  The 
dishonesty  of  Russian  officials  is  a  matter  of  universal  noto 


846  TBAVELS   IN    POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

riety,  and  Alexander  II.  is  doing  his  part  to  deck  and 
punish  it,  He  has  not  been  the  slightest  sufferer.  During 
the  coronation,  40,000  lamps  were  bought  for  the  illuraina 
lion  of  the  Kremlin,  and  now,  not  one  is  to  be  found  l 
Thousands  of  yards  of  crimson  cloth,  furnished  on  the  same 
occasion,  have  disappeared,  and  enormous  charges  appear 
in  the  bills  for  articles  which  were  never  bought  at  all. 
All  Moscow  was  laughing  over  one  of  these  discoveries, 
which  is  too  amusing  not  to  tell,  although  I  may  offend 
strict  ideas  of  propriety  in  relating  it.  In  the  suite  of  the 
Empress  were  fifty  chosen  Ladies  of  Honor,  who,  of  course, 
were  lodged  and  entertained  at  the  Imperial  expense. 
When  the  bills  came  to  be  settled  it  was  found  that,  in 
furnishing  the  bed-chambers  of  these  fifty  ladies,  4,500 
utensils  of  a  useful  character  had  been  purchased,  or  no 
less  than  ninety  apiece  ! 

A  part  of  the  ancient  Palace  of  the  Tzars — all  that  was 
left  by  fire  and  Frenchmen — forms  the  rear  wing  of  the 
building.  It  is  very  much  in  the  style  of  the  Cathedral  of 
St.  Basil — irregular,  fantastic,  and  covered  with  a  painted 
tangle  of  scrolls,  vines,  flowers,  and  birds.  The  apartments 
of  the  Tzarina  and  children,  the  private  chapel,  audience- 
room,  and  terema  or  inclosed  balcony,  are  still  quite  per- 
fect. From  the  latter,  it  is  said,  Napoleon  watched  the 
progress  of  the  fire,  the  night  after  his  arrival  in  Moscow 
On  the  ancient  tables  stand  the  treasure-chests  of  the  Tzar 
Alexis — five  large  boxes  of  massive  gold,  covered  with 
tfiBcriptions  in  the  old  Slavonian  character.  If  such  were 
the  chests,  what  must  have  been  the  treasure  ?  But  really, 
before  one  gets  through  with  the  Kremlin,  gold  and  jewels 


XilK   KREMLIN.  84? 

become  drugs.     You  still  delight  in  their  blaze  and  beauty 
but  you  cease  to  be  impressed  by  their  value. 

This  warns  me  that  the  words,  too,  in  which  I  have  beer 
endeavoring  to  describe  these  things,  may  at  last  lose 
their  color  and  force,  from  sheer  repetition.  I  shall  there 
fore  barely  mention  the  last,  and  perhaps  the  most  inter 
esting  sight  of  all — The  Treasury.  I  know  no  historical 
museum  in  Europe  of  such  magnificence,  although  there 
may  be  others  more  technically  complete.  Here,  crowns 
and  thrones  are  as  plenty  as  mineralogical  specimens  else- 
where. In  one  hall  are  the  jewelled  thrones  of  Ivan  IIL, 
Boris  Gudonoff,  Michael  Romanoff,  Peter  the  Great  and 
his  brother,  and  of  Poland ;  while  between  them,  each  rest- 
ing on  a  crimson  cushion,  on  its  separate  pillar,  are  the 
crowns  of  those  monarchs,  and  of  the  subject  kingdoms  of 
Siberia,  Poland,  Kazan,  Novgorod,  and  the  Crimea.  In 
another  case  is  the  sceptre  of  Poland,  broken  in  the  centre, 
and  the  Constitution  of  that  ill-fated  country  lies  in  a  box 
at  the  feet  of  Alexander  I.'s  portrait.  There  are  also  the 
litter  of  Charles  XII.,  taken  at  Pultava ;  the  heavy  jack-boots 
of  the  great  Peter  ;  the  jewelled  horse-trappings  of  Catha 
rine  II.,  her  equestrian  portrait  in  male  attire  (and  a  gal 
lant,  dashing,  strapping  cavalier  she  isl),  the  helmet  oi 
Michael  Romanoff — curiously  enough,  with  an  Arabic  sen 
teiice  over  the  brow — and  a  superb  collection  of  arms., 
armor,  military  trappings,  golden  and  silver  vessels^  had 
antique  jewelry.  A  lower  room  contains  the  imperial 
coaches  and  sleds,  for  nearly  two  centuries  back. 

Can  you  wonder  now,  even  after  the  little  I  have  found 
room  to  say,  that  the  Kremlin  is  looked  upon  by  the  Rua 
sian  people  with  fond  and  faithful  veneration? 


CHAPTER    XXXL 

A     VISIT     TO     THE     FOUNDLING      HOSPITAL. 

Ii  was  a  pleasant  change  to  me  to  turn  my  eyes,  dazzled 
by  the  splendors  of  the  Kremlin,  upon  an  edifice  which  hag 
neither  gold  nor  jewels  to  show,  but  which  illustrates  the 
patriarchal,  or  rather  paternal,  character  of  the  Russian 
Government,  on  the  grandest  scale.  This  is  the  Vospita- 
tdnoi  Dom,  or  Foundling  Hospital — but  the  title  conveys 
no  idea  of  the  extent  and  completeness  of  this  imperial 
charity.  There  are  similar  institutions  in  Paris,  Stockholm, 
Vienna,  and  other  cities,  on  a  much  more  contracted  scale. 
Our  New  York  asylum  for  children,  on  Randall's  Island, 
though  a  most  beneficent  establishment,  is  still  more  limited 
in  its  operations  than  the  latter.  In  Russia  the  Foundling 
Hospital  is  characterized  by  some  peculiar  and  very  inter 
sting  features,  which  deserve  to  be  generally  known,  as 
they  are  intimately  connected  with  one  of  those  tender 
moral  questions  our  civilization  is  afraid  to  handle. 

In  every  general  view  of  Moscow,  the  eye  is  struck  bj 
an  immense  quadrangular  building,  or  collection  of  build 


A   VISIT  TO   Till.   FOVXPLING    HOSPITAL.  34& 

ings,  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Moskva,  directly  east  of 
the  Kremlin.  The  white  front  towers  high  over  all  the 
neighboring  part  of  the  city,  and  quite  eclipses,  in  its  im- 
posing appearance,  every  palace,  church,  military  barrack, 
or  other  public  building  whatever.  It  cannot  be  much  less 
lhan  a  thousand  feet  in  length,  and,  at  a  venture,  I  should 
estimate  its  size  at  three  times  that  of  the  Capitol  at  Wash- 
ington. The  Governorship  of  this  institution  is  only  second 
in  importance  to  that  of  the  city  itself,  and  is  always  eon- 
*i.'rred  upon  a  nobleman  of  distinguished  rank  and  attain- 
ments. The  importance  of  the  post  may  be  estimated 
when  I  state  that  the  annual  expenses  of  the  hospital 
amount  to  $5,000,000.  A  portion  of  the  Government 
revenues  are  set  aside  for  this  purpose,  in  addition  tc 
which  successive  Tzars,  as  well  as  private  individuals,  have 
richly  endowed  it.  The  entire  property  devoted  to  the 
support,  maintenance,  and  education  of  foundlings  in  Rus- 
sia, is  said  to  amount  to  the  enormous  sum  of  five  hundred 
millions  of  dollars. 

This  stupendous  institution  was  founded  by  Catharine 
II.,  immediately  after  her  accession  to  the  throne  in  1762 
Eight  years  afterwards,  she  established  a  branch  at  St. 
Petersburg,  which  has  now  outgrown  the  parent  concern, 
and  is  conducted  on  a  still  more  magnificent  scale.  The 
original  design  appears  to  have  been  to  furnish  an  asylum 
for  illegitimate  children  and  destitute  orphans.  A  lying-in 
hospital  was  connected  with  it,  so  that  nothing  might  be 
left  undone  to  suppress  crime  and  misery  in  a  humane  and 
charitable  way.  The  plan,  however,  was  soon  enlarged  so 
as  to  embrace  all  children  who  might  be  offered,  without 


850  TRAVELS   IX   POLAND   AND   EUSSIA. 

question  or  stipulation,  the  parents,  naturally,  giving  np 
their  offspring  to  the  service  of  the  Government  which  Aad 
reared  them.  Russia  offers  herself  as  midwife,  wet-nurse, 
mother,  and  teacher,  to  every  new  soul  for  whom  there  is 
no  place  among  the  homes  of  her  people,  and  nobly  and 
conscientiously  does  she  discharge  her  self-imposed  duty. 
She  not  only  takes  no  life  (capital  punishment,  I  believe, 
does  not  exist),  but  she  saves  thousands  annually.  She, 
therefore,  autocracy  as  she  is,  practically  carries  into  effect 
one  of  the  first  articles  of  the  ultra-socialistic  code. 

Through  Col.  Claxton's  kindness,  I  obtained  permission 
to  visit  the  Foundling  Hospital.  We  were  received  by  the 
Superintendent,  a  lively  intelligent  gentleman,  with  half  a 
dozen  orders  at  his  button-hole.  Before  conducting  us 
through  the  building,  he  stated  that  we  would  see  it  to  less 
advantage  than  usual,  all  the  children  being  in  the  country 
for  the  summer,  with  the  exception  of  those  which  had 
been  received  during  the  last  few  weeks.  There  is  a  large 
village  about  thirty  versts  from  Moscow,  whose  inhabitants 
devote  themselves  entirely  to  the  bringing  up  of  these 
foundlings.  We  first  entered  a  wing  of  the  building, 
appropriated  to  the  orphan  children  of  officers.  There 
were  then  one  thousand  two  hundred  in  the  institution, 
but  all  of  them,  with  the  exception  of  the  sucklings,  were 
enjoying  their  summer  holidays  in  the  country.  It  was 
the  hour  for  their  mid-day  nap,  and  in  the  large,  airy  halls 
lay  a  hundred  and  fifty  babes,  each  in  its  little  white  cot, 
covered  with  curtains  of  fine  gau/e.  Only  one  whimpered 
a  little;  all  the  others  sU-|>t  quietly.  The  apartments  were 
in  the  highest  possible  stnte  of  neatness,  and  the  nurses, 


A    VISIT  TO   THE   FOUNDLING    HOSPITAL.  35 1 

who  stood  silently,   with  hands  folded  on  their  breasts, 
bowing  as  we  passed,  were  also  remarkably  neat  in  person. 

These  children  enjoy  some  privileges  over  the  foundlings 
and  poorer  orphans.  The  boys  are  taught  some  practical 
science  or  profession,  and  not  unfrequently  receive  placc.- 
as  officers  in  the  army.  The  girls  receive  an  excellent  edu- 
cation, including  music  and  modern  languages,  and  become 
teachers  or  governesses.  As  the  larger  children  were  all 
absent,  I  could  form  no  idea  of  the  manner  of  their  instruc- 
tion, except  from  an  inspection  of  the  school  and  class 
rooms,  the  appearance  of  which  gave  a  good  report.  The 
Superintendents  and  Teachers  are  particularly  required  to 
watch  the  signs  of  any  decided  talent  in  the  children,  and, 
where  such  appears  to  develop  it  in  the  proper  direction. 
Thus,  excellent  musicians,  actors,  painters,  engineers,  and 
mechanics  of  various  kinds,  have  been  produced,  and  the 
poor  and  nameless  children  of  Russia  have  ri>en  to  wealth 
and  distinction. 

On  our  way  to  the  Hospital  proper,  we  passed  through  the 
Church,  which  is  as  cheerful  and  beautiful  a  place  of  devo- 
tion as  I  had  seen  since  leaving  the  Parthenon.  The  walls 
are  of  scagliola,  peach-blossom  color,  brightened,  but  not 
overloaded  with  golden  ornaments.  The  dome,  well  painted 
in  fresco,  rests  on  pillars  of  the  same  material,  and  the  tall 
altar  screen,  though  gilded,  is  not  glaring,  nor  are  the 
Saints  abnormal  creatures,  whose  like  is  not  to  be  found  in 
Heaven  or  Earth.  The  prestol,  or  inmost  shrine,  stands 
under  a  dome,  whose  inner  side  contains  a  choral  circle  of 
lovely  blonde-haired  angels,  floating  in  a  blue,  starry  sky 
All  parts  of  the  vast  building  are  most  substantially  and 


852  TRAVELS   IN   POLAX1)    AND   BUSSIA. 

carefully  constructed.  The  walls  are  of  brick  or  stone,  lh« 
floors  of  marble  or  glazed  tiles  in  the  corridors,  and  the 
stair-cases  of  iron.  The  courts  inclose  garden-plots,  radiant 
with  flowers.  The  arrangements  for  heating  and  ventila- 
tion are  admirable.  With  such  care,  one  would  think  that 
a  naturally  healthy  child  would  be  as  sure  to  live  as  a  sound 
egg  to  be  hatched  in  the  Egyptian  ovens. 

We  passed  through  hall  after  hall,  filled  with  rows  of 
little  white  cots,  beside  each  of  which  stood  a  nurse,  either 
watching  her  sleeping  charge,  or  gently  rocking  it  in  her 
arms.  Twelve  hundred  nurses  and  twelve  hundred  babies ! 
This  is  homoculture  on  a  large  scale.  Not  all  the  plants 
would  thrive  ;  some  helpless  little  ones  would  perhaps  that 
day  give  up  the  unequal  struggle,  and,  before  men  and 
women  are  produced  from  the  crop  there  sown,  the  num- 
ber will  be  diminished  by  one-third.  The  condition  in 
which  they  arrive,  often  brought  from  a  long  distance,  in 
rough  weather,  accounts  for  the  mortality.  When  we  con- 
sider, however,  that  the  deaths,  both  in  Moscow  and  St. 
Petersburg,  annually  exceed  the  biiths,  it  is  evident  that 
the  Government  takes  better  care  of  its  children  than  do 
the  parents  themselves.  Of  the  babies  we  saw,  seven  had 
been  brought  in  on  the  day  of  our  visit,  up  to  the  time  of 
our  arrival,  and  fourteen  the  previous  day.  The  nursea 
were  stout,  healthy,  ugly  women,  varying  from  twenty  to 
forty  years  of  age.  They  all  wore  the  national  costume — • 
a  dress  bordered  with  scarlet,  white  apron,  and  a  large, 
fan-shaped  head-dress  of  white  and  red.  In  every  hall  there 
was  a  lady-like,  intelligent  overseeress.  In  spite  of  the 
multitude  of  babies,  there  was  very  little  noise,  and  the 


A    VISIT   TO   THE   FOUNDLING   HOSPITAL  353 

most  nervous  old  bachelor  might  have  gone  the  rounl  with- 
out once  having  his  teeth  set  on  edge. 

The  superintendent  then  conducted  us  to  the  office  ol 
agency,  on  the  lower  story,  where  the  children  are  received 
The  number  of  clerks  and  desks,  and  the  library  of  records 
showed  the  extent  of  the  business  done.  I  looked  over  a 
report  of  the  operations  of  the  institution,  from  its  founda- 
tion to  the  present  time.  The  number  of  children  confided 
to  its  care  has  increased  from  a  few  hundred  in  1762  tc 
14,000  in  1857.  Since  the  commencement  of  the  year  (Jan. 
13,  O.  S)  6,032  had  arrived.  The  entire  number  received 
in  ninety-six  years  is  330,000,  to  which  may  be  added 
60,000  more,  born  in  the  lying-in  hospital  during  the  same 
period — making  390,000  in  all.  The  Petersburg  branch 
affords  still  larger  returns,  so  that  at  present  30,000  chil 
dren  are  annually  given  into  the  care  of  the  Government. 
A  very  large  proportion  of  them  are  the  offspring  of  poor 
married  people,  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  As  the  children 
may  afterward  be  reclaimed,  on  certain  conditions,  and  are 
in  any  case  assured  of  as  fortunate  a  lot,  at  least,  as  would 
have  been  theirs  at  home,  the  parents  are  the  more  easily 
led  to  take  advantage  of  this  charity.  The  child  is  taken 
without  question,  and  therefore  no  reliable  statistics  of  the 
public  morality  can  be  obtained  from  this  source. 

The  office  is  kept  open  night  and  day,  and  no  living  child 
•vhich  is  offered  can  be  refused.  The  only  question  asked 
is,  whether  it  has  been  baptized.  If  not,  the  ceremony  is 
immediately  performed  in  an  adjoining  room,  by  a  priest 
connected  with  the  institution,  one  of  the  oldest  nurses, 
generally,  acting  as  godmother.  Its  name  and  number  are 


354  TRAVELS    IX    POLANT)    AXD    RUSSIA. 

then  entered  in  the  official  book,  a  card  containing  then 
and  the  date  of  its  arrival  is  attached  to  its  neck,  and 
another  given  to  the  mother,  so  that  it  may  afterwards  be 
identified  and  reclaimed.  Very  frequently,  the  mother  is 
allowed  to  become  its  nurse,  in  which  case  she  receives  pay 
like  the  other  nurses.  After  six  weeks  or  two  months  in 
the  institution,  it  is  sent  into  the  country,  where  it  remains 
until  old  enough  to  receive  instruction.  The  regular  nurses 
are  paid  at  the  rate  of  about  f>50  a  year,  in  addition  to  their 
board  and  lodging.  If  the  parents  pay  a  sum  equal  to  $25 
on  the  deposition  of  the  infant,  they  are  entitled  to  have  it 
brought  up  exclusively  within  the  walls  of  the  institution, 
where  it  is  more  carefully  attended  to  than  elsewhere. 
The  payment  of  $200  procures  for  it,  if  a  boy,  the  rank  of 
an  officer.  The  parents  are  allowed  to  see  their  children  at 
stated  times,  and  many  of  them  take  advantage  of  this  per- 
mission. The  greater  part,  however,  live  in  the  provinces, 
and  virtually  give  up  their  children  to  the  State;  though  it 
is  always  possible  by  consulting  the  Hospital  directory,  to 
find  where  the  latter  are,  and  to  recover  them. 

In  the  lying-in  hospital,  all  women  are  received  who 
apply.  They  are  allowed  to  enter  one  month  before  their 
confinement,  and  to  remain  afterwards  until  their  health  is 
entirely  restored.  Those  who  wish  to  be  unknown  are 
concealed  by  a  curtain  which  falls  across  the  middle  of  th 
bed,  so  that  their  faces  are  never  seen.  Besides  this,  no 
one  is  allowed  to  enter  the  hospital  except  the  persons 
actually  employed  within  it.  The  late  Emperor,  even, 
respected  its  privacy,  and  at  once  gave  up  his  desire  tc 
enter,  on  the  representations  of  the  Governor.  The  arrange 


A.    VISIT   TO    THE    FOUXDLIXG    HOSPITAL.  35ft 

ments  are  said  to  be  so  excellent  that  not  only  poor  mar 
ried  women,  but  many  \\  ho  are  quite  above  the  necessity 
of  such  a  charity,  take  advantage  of  it.  In  this  case,  also, 
the  number  of  children  brought  forth  is  no  evidence  as  to 
I  IK  proportion  of  illegitimate  births.  It  is  not  obligatory 
upon  the  mother  to  leave  her  child  in  the  hospital ;  she  may 
take  it  with  her  it'  she  chooses,  but  it  will  of  course  be 
received,  if  offered. 

Besides  the  soldiers,  common  mechanics,  and  factory 
girls,  which  the  children  of  merely  ordinary  capacity 
become,  the  Government  has,  of  late  years,  established 
many  of  them  as  farmers  and  colonists  on  the  uncultivated 
crown  lands.  They  are  mated,  married,  and  comfortably 
settle  in  villages,  where,  in  addition  to  their  agricultural 
labors,  they  frequently  take  charge  of  a  younger  generation 
of  foundlings.  I  have  seen  some  of  these  villages  where  the 
houses  were  all  neat  S \\iss  cottages,  under  the  projecting 
eaves  of  which  the  families  sat  in  the  mild  evening  air, 
while  groups  of  sprightly  children,  too  nearly  of  an  age 
to  belong  to  the  occupants,  sported  before  them.  The  peo- 
ple looked  happy  and  prosperous.  If  there  is  a  patriotic 
peasantry  on  earth,  they  should  certainly  belong  to  it. 
They  are,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term,  children  of  their 
country. 

The  St.  Petersburg  Hospital,  though  in  the  heart  of  the 
uty,  covers,  with  its  dependencies,  twenty-eight  acres  of 
ground.  Upwards  of  five  hundred  teachers  are  employed 
many  of  them  on  very  high  salaries.  The  number  of 
nurses,  servants,  and  other  persons  employed  in  the  esta- 
blishment, amounts  to  upward  of  five  thousand.  The  boyi 


35  C  TRAVELS   IN    POLAND    AND   RUSSIA. 

and  girls,  both  there  and  in  Moscow,  are  taught  separately 
The  cost  of  their  education,  alone,  is  more  than  $1,000,000 
annually.  In  a  word,  Russia  spends  on  her  orphans  and 
castaways  as  much  as  the  entire  revenues  of  Sweden,  Nor- 
way, and  Greece. 

Let  us  not  be  so  dazzled,  however,  by  the  splendid  libe 
rality  of  this  charity,  as  to  lose  sight  of  the  moral  question 
which  it  involves.  No  other  nation  has  yet  instituted  such 
a  system ;  few  other  governments  would  dare  do  it  at  pre- 
sent. What  effect  has  it  had  on  public  morals?  It  has 
existed  for  nearly  a  century,  and  whatever  influence  it  may 
exercise,  either  for  good  or  evil,  must  now  be  manifest. 
One  fact  is  certain — that  the  number  of  children  delivered 
into  its  keeping,  has  steadily  increased  from  year  to  year ; 
but  this,  as  I  have  already  shown,  is  no  indication  what- 
ever. The  growth  of  its  resources,  the  perfection  of  its 
arrangements,  and  the  liberal  education  which  it  bestows 
sufficiently  explain  this  increase.  In  the  absence  of  reliable 
moral  statistics,  we  are  obliged,  simply,  to  draw  a  parallel 
between  the  condition  of  the  Russians,  in  this  respect,  at 
present,  and  the  accounts  given  of  them  in  the  last  century. 
Judging  from  these  data,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  declare  that 
the  effect  of  the  system  has  not  been  detrimental  to  the 
general  morality  of  the  Russian  people.  On  the  contrary 
they  have  improved  with  the  improvement  in  their  condi 
tion  and  the  gradual  advance  of  civilization.  When  1 
compare  the  chronicles  of  Richard  Chancellor,  and  of  Sir 
John  Chardin,  two  and  a  half  centuries  ago,  with  what  I 
see  new,  I  can  scarcely  realize  that  they  are  the  same 
people 


A    VISIT   TO    TIIK    For.NDM.Vi    HOSPITAL.  35? 

"  But,"  cries  a  Pharisee,  "  this  Hospital  affords  an  easy 
and  secret  relief  to  the  sinner.  By  saving  her  from  public 
shame,  it  encourages  her  in  private  vice!  It  removes  the 
righteous  penalty  placed  upon  incontinence,  and  thereb) 
gradually  demoralizes  society!"  I  do  not  deny  that  the 
relief  here  afforded  may  increase  the  number  of  individual- 
who  need  it,  but  I  assert,  in  all  earnestness,  that  the  moral 
tore  of  "  Society "  would  not  be  lowered  thereby,  seeing 
that,  where  one  licentious  act  may  be  encouraged,  one 
awful  crime  is  certainly  prevented.  In  Russia,  infanti- 
cides and  abortions  are  almost  unknown.  In  America,  on< 
need  but  look  at  what  is  discovered.  God  only  knows  how 
many  additional  cases  of  the  crime  most  abhorent  to  human 
nature  are  perpetrated  in  secret.  And  yet,  if  some  benevo- 
lent millionare  should  propose  to  build  such  a  foundling 
hospital  in  New- York,  pulpit  and  press  would  riddle,  him 
with  the  red-hot  shot  of  holy  indignation.  Oh,  no !  Let 
the  subject  alone — your  fingers,  of  course,  are  white,  and 
were  not  meant  to  handle  pitch.  No  matter  what  crimes 
are  eating  their  way  into  the  moral  heart  of  Society,  so  long 
as  all  is  fair  on  the  outside.  Let  the  unwedded  mother 
finding  no  pity  or  relief  for  her,  and  no  place  in  the  worlr 
for  her  unlawful  offspring,  murder  it  before  it  is  born  ! 
rhis  is  better  than  to  stretch  out  a  helping  hand  to  her 
and  so  prevent  the  crime.  Ten  to  one,  the  act  is  never 
found  out ;  appearances  are  preserved,  and  our  sanctified 
prudery  is  unruffled. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  moral  tone  of 
Society  can  only  be  preserved  by  making  desperate  outcast* 
of  all  who  sin.  So  long  as  we  preserve  a  genuine  domestic 


358  TRAVELS    IN    POLAXD    AN'l)    RUSSIA. 

life — so  long  as  we  have  virtuous  homes,  liberal  education 
and  religious  influences — we  need  not  fear  that  a  Christ iar 
charity  like  that  which  I  have  described  will  touch  oui 
purity.  It  will  only  cleanse  us  from  the  stain  of  the  black 
est  of  crimes.  The  number  of  illegitimate  births  would  IK 
ucreased  by  the  diminution  iu  the  number  of  abortions 
NVho  will  dare  to  say  that  the  reverse  is  preferable?  \Vo 
boast,  and  with  some  justice,  of  the  superior  morality  of 
>ur  population,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  nations  of 
Europe;  but  we  should  kno\v  that  hi  none  of  the  latter  is 
infanticide  (both  before  and  after  birth)  so  common  as  \\  it! 
us.  We  should  remember  that  a  morality  which  is  uncha- 
ritable, cruel,  and  Pharisaic,  inevitably  breeds  a  secret 
immorality.  The  Spartan  holiness  of  the  New  England 
pilgrims  was  followed  by  a  shocking  prevalence  of  unnatural 
vice,  which  diminished  in  proportion  as  their  iron  discipline 
was  relaxed. 

At  any  rate,  we  can  never  err  by  helping  those  who  are 
in  trouble,  even  though  that  trouble  have  come  through 
vice.  I  have  never  heard  that  the  Magdalen  Societies  have 
iucreased  the  number  of  prostitutes,  and  I  do  not  believe 
that  a  foundling  hospital  would  encourage  seduction  or 
adultery.  To  change  one  word  iu  the  immortal  lines  oi 
Burns: 

"  What's  done,  we  partly  may  compute, 
Bat  know  not  what's  prevented." 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

MOSCOW,     IN-DOORS     AND     OUT. 

WERE  I  a  painter  of  the  Dutch  or  Flemish  school,  I  could 
bring  you  many  a  characteristic  sketch  of  Moscow  life. 
Here,  especially,  such  subjects  require  form  and  color,  and 
tli t-ir  accompanying  "still  life,"  and  are  therefore  only  to 
be  made  intelligible  by  the  pen  after  the  pencil  has  gone 
before.  But  there  are  few,  if  any,  genre  pictures  in  Russia. 
The  most  distinguished  artist  the  country  has  yet  produced 
— Bruloff — painted  goddesses,  nymphs,  saints,  and  the  De- 
struction of  Pompeii.  The  streets  of  Moscow  are  full  of 
subjects,  many  of  which  are  peculiarly  interesting,  as  they 
illustrate  features  of  Russian  life  Avhich  must  soon  change 
or  disappear.  The  istvo^trhiks,  with  their  squat  black  hats, 
gplendid  beards,  and  blue  caftans  ;  the  double-waisted  pea- 
sant women  at  the  street  shrines;  the  bare-headed  serf, 
bowing  and  crossing  himself,  with  his  eyes  tixed  on  a  dis- 
tant church ;  the  shabby  merchants  in  the  second-hand 
markets,  with  their  tables  of  heterogeneous  wares  ;  tho 
raulted  avenues  of  the  Gostinnoi  Dvor,  and  the  curious 


160  TRAVELS    IN    POLAND    A>*D    RUSSIA. 

stalls  in  the  Kitai  Gorod  ;  the  vegetable  markets,  the  sellers 
of  qvass,  the  wood-boatmen  on  the  Moskva  and  the  Tartars 
at  their  mosque,  all  furnish  studies  to  the  stranger,  whethei 
he  be  painter  or  author.  It  would  require  a  long  residence, 
bo  exhaust  the  interest  of  the  city,  in  this  respect. 

To  one  who  has  seen  the  bazaars  of  Constantinople,  the 
Gostinnoi  Dvor  presents  no  new  features.  It  is  low,  arched 
above  and  paved  under  foot,  and  each  avenue  or  part  of  an 
avenue  is  devoted  to  a  particular  kind  of  merchandise'. 
The  inside  is  a  perfect  labyrinth,  and  no  little  time  is  m-< -ro- 
sary in  order  to  learn  the  geographical  arrangement  of  the 
shops.  If  you  want  nails  you  may  wander  through,  tin1 
vaiious  departments  devoted  to  linen,  woollen,  silk,  and 
cotton  goods,  jewels,  wax  candles,  tar,  and  turpentine,  \>  • 
fore  you  get  to  iron.  Buttons  are  in  one  direction  and  tape 
in  another;  sugar  behind  you,  and  spoons  far  ahead.  A- 
you  walk  down  the  dimly-lighted  passages,  you  are  hailed 
with  invitations  to  buy,  on  all  sides;  the  merchants  hai  i_r 
with  expectation  on  the  turning  of  your  head,  and  rerehe 
with  ecstacy  the  accidental  glance  of  your  eye.  This  desire 
to  have  you  for  a  customer  does  not  prevent  them  from  ask 
ing  much  more  than  they  expect  to  receive,  and  it'  you 
\\a\  s  the  least  inclination  to  buy,  no  one  is  so  stony- hearted 
as  to  let  you  go  away  empty-handed. 

The  shops  of  the  jewelers  are  interesting,  from  the 
variety  of  precious  stones,  chiefly  from  the  mountains  <>t 
Siberia,  which  are  to  be  found  in  them.  The  jewels  mosi 
fashionable  in  Moscow  at  present  are  diamonds,  emeralds, 
pearls,  and  turquoises.  Opals  also  bring  a  large  price,  but 
stones  of  secondary  order,  such  as  topaz,  garnet,  ame- 


MOSCOAS',    IN-DOOBS    AND   OUT.  861 

thyst,  onyx,  and  aqua-marine,  are  plentiful  and  cheap 
Siberia  produces  superb  emeralds,  and  the  finest  amethysts, 
aqua-marines,  and  topazes  I  ever  saw.  The  Siberian  dia 
inond,  which  is  found  in  abundance  in  the  Ural  Mountains, 
appears  to  be  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  white  topaz.  A 
necklace  of  seventy-five  of  these  stones,  the  size  of  a  cherry, 
costs  a  little  less  than  $20.  I  noticed  a  few  fine  sapphires, 
bui  suspect  that  they  found  their  way  thither  from  India, 
through  Persia.  One  jeweler  showed  me  a  jacinth,  a 
••ather  rare  stone  with  a  splendid  scarlet  fire,  for  which  he 
demanded  fifty  rubles.  There  were  also  some  glorious 
opals,  darting  their  lambent  rays  of  pink,  green,  blue  and 
pearl-white,  but  their  value  \v:is  equal  to  their  beauty. 
Malachite  and  lapiz-lazuli,  so  common  in  Russian  palaces 
and  churches,  are  dear,  and  good  specimens  are  not  easy 
to  be  had. 

In  this  bazaar  you  are  struck  by  the  smooth,  sallow 
faces  of  the  money-changers,  and  a  certain  mixture  of 
weakness  and  cunning  in  their  expression.  You  are  there- 
fore not  surprised  when  you  learn  that  they  are  all  eunuchs. 
I  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to  discover  the  cause  of  this 
singular  fact.  The  money-changers,  so  say  the  people, 
have  for  centuries  past  constituted  a  peculiar  class,  or  guild. 
They  are  very  rich,  naturally  clannish  on  account  of  their 
mutilation,  and  accept  no  new  member  into  their  body  who 
has  not  undergone  a  like  preparation.  As  voluntary  con 
rerta  to  such  a  sect  must  be  very  scarce,  they  would  in 
time  become  extinct  if  they  did  not  purchase,  at  a  heavy 
cost,  the  sons  of  poor  parents,  who  are  qualified  at  an  ago 
when  they  can  neither  understand  nor  resist  their  fate, 


362  TRAVELS    IN   POLAND   AND   BUSSIA. 

The  Government  has  prohibited  this  practice  andei  vety 
severe  penalties,  and  the  vile  brotherhood  will  probably 
soon  cease  to  exist. 

The  Riadi,  an  open  bazaar  in  the  Kitai  Gorod,  deserves 
to  be  next  visited.  It  is  less  ostentatious  in  its  character, 
but  exhibits  even  a  greater  diversity  of  shops  and  wares, 
and  is  thronged  from  sunrise  until  sunset  with  purchasers 
and  traders.  Here  you  find  everything  which  the  common 
Russian  requires  for  his  domestic  life,  his  religion,  his  birth, 
marriage,  and  death.  For  a  few  copeks  you  may  drink  ;» 
ladle  of  qvass,  eat  a  basin  of  the  national  shtshee  (cabbage 
soup)  or  botvinia  (an  iced  soup  full  of  raw  cucumbers  and 
various  other  indigestibles),  and  finish  with  a  glass  of  tb* 
fiery  vodki.  The  latter,  however,  generally  comes  first,  &a 
in  Sweden.  Wax  candles  of  all  sizes  are  here  displayed, 
and  the  collection  of  patron  saints  is  truly  astonishing. 
Brown  Virgins  predominate,  but  St.  Nicholas,  in  a  scarlet 
mantle,  and  St.  George  slaying  the  Dragon,  are  also  great 
favorites.  As  in  Russia  no  house  is  built  and  no  room  occu- 
pied, without  the  presence  of  a  saint,  the  trade  hi  the 
Byzantine  Lares  and  Penates  is  very  great.  No  Russian, 
of  whatever  rank,  enters  a  house,  however  humble,  without 
uncovering  his  head.  It  is  an  act  of  religion  rather  than 
of  courtesy. 

The  fondness  of  the  common  people  for  pictures  is  re 
markable.  To  say  nothing  of  the  saints  and  illustrations 
of  Biblical  history  which  you  meet  with  on  nil  sides,  there 
are  shops  and  booths  filled  entirely  with  caricatures  or  alle- 
gorical subjects.  The  most  favorite  of  these  seems  to  be 
the  punishment  of  avarice.  Rich  old  sinners,  with  puffj 


MOSCOW,    1^-DOORS    AND   OUT.  303 

cheeks  and  fat  round  bellies,  grasping  a  bag  of  specie  in 
each  hand,  are  seized  by  devils,  pricked  with  pitchforks,  or 
torn  limb  from  limb.  Another  picture  illustrates  the  two 
ways — one  broad  and  easy,  the  other  winding  md  difficult, 
one  terminating  in  flames  and  devils,  and  the  other  at  the 
foot  of  a  dark-brown  Virgin.  Crinoline,  even,  is  satirized 
in  some  of  the  caricatures.  Others,  again,  are  more  than 
broad  in  their  fun,  and,  if  there  are  ladies  in  your  com- 
pany, you  would  do  best  not  to  look  at  them.  The  draw- 
ing in  these  pictures  is  of  the  rudest  and  wretchedest  kind ; 
but  there  is  always  a  printed  explanation  at  the  foot 
of  the  sheet,  so  that  you  cannot  fail  to  know  what  is 
meant. 

At  the  Second-Hand  Markets,  of  which  there  are  several, 
one  finds  the  oddest  collection  of  old  articles,  from  Eng- 
lish novels  to  Arabic  seal-rings,  from  French  hats  to  Chinese 
shoes,  from  ancient  crucifixes  to  damaged  modern  crinolines. 
The  world's  refuse  seems  to  have  been  swept  together  here. 
It  would  be  difficut  to  name  any  article  which  you  could 
not  find.  I  wandered  for  an  hour  through  one  of  these 
markets,  near  the  Soukhoreff  Tower,  and  the  only  things 
which  I  could  think  of  and  did  not  see,  were  a  coal-scuttle 
and  an  oyster-knife.  However,  I  made  but  a  partial  survey, 
and  do  not  doubt  but  that  both  the  articles  were  there 
somewhere.  One  of  the  stupidest  and  greasiest  of  the 
merchants  had  a  second-hand  mineralogical  collection  for 
sale.  A  boy  who  could  not  read  offered  me  some  German 
theological  books,  of  the  most  orthodox  character.  Look- 
ing  up  from  my  inspection  of  them,  I  sa\v  around  me  grass, 
soap,  wagon  gear,  garlic,  sofas,  crockery,  guitars,  crucifixes, 


3fl4  TRAVELS    IX   POLAND    AND   RUSSIA. 

ail  cloth,  and  cheese!  Singularly  enough,  the  buyeis  repre- 
sented all  classes  of  society,  from  serfs  up  to  officers  in  full 
uniform  and  ladies  of  the  widest  periphery. 

Let  us  escape  from  this  variegated  and  somewhat  bewil- 
iered  crowd,  and  seek  a  little  fresh  air  further  from  the 
busy  heart  of  the  city.  A  friend  proposes  a  ride  to  Astan 
kina  and  Petroffskoi.  which  lie  a  short  distance  outside  the 
barrier,  en  the  northern  side.  We  have  but  to  crj 
"davai!"  (here!)  and  a  dozen  istvostchiks  answer  to  the 
call.  They  are  very  jolly  fellows,  and  their  hats — like  the 
old  bell-crown  of  tliirty  years  ago,  razeed — give  them  a 
smart  and  jaunty  air,  in  spite  of  the  blue  cloth  caftan, 
which  reaches  to  their  heels.  They  have  all  ruddy  faces, 
stumpy  noses,  bluish-gray  eyes,  and  beards  of  exactly  the 
same  cut  and  color,  whatever  their  build  and  physiognomy. 
The  old  national  droshky,  which  most  of  them  drive,  is  a 
hybrid  between  the  Norwegian  cariole  and  the  Irish  jaunt- 
ing car — a  light,  low,  jolting  thing,  but  cheap  and  suffi- 
ciently convenient.  If  there  is  one  passenger  he  sits 
astride  ;  if  two,  side-wise.  The  istvostchik  sits  also  astride, 
in  front,  and  it  is  not  the  most  agreeable  feature  of  his 
nature,  that  he  always  eats  garlic.  His  feet  rest  on  tho 
frame  of  the  vehicle,  close  to  the  horse's  heels,  from  which, 
or  from  the  mud,  he  is  not  protected  by  any  dashboard. 
I  inferred  from  this  fact  that  the  Russian  horses  are  un- 
usually well-behaved,  and  am  told  that  it  is  really  the  case 
It  is  a  very  unusual  thing  for  one  of  them  to  kick  while  ir 
harness.  There  are  no  such  hack-horses  in  the  world. 
Without  an  exception  they  are  handsome,  well-conditioned 
spirited  animals.  The  istvostchik  differs  from  all  otbei 


MOSCOW,    IN-DOORS    AND    OUT.  366 

hackmen,  in  the  circumstance  that  it  is  impossible  for  him 
to  drive  slowly.  If  you  are  not  in  a  hurry,  he  always  is. 
As  there  is  no  established  tax,  the  fare  must  be  agreed  apon 
beforehand,  but  it  does  not  usually  amount  to  more  than 
twelve  cents  a  mile.  A  handsome  open  caldche,  with  two 
orses,  can  be  had  for  three  dollars  a  day.  There  is  more 
or  less  Ukraine  blood  in  the  common  Moscow  horses. 

The  fields  around  the  city  are  principally  devoted  to  the 
cultivation  of  vegetables.  Companies  of  women,  singing 
in  shrill  chorus,  were  hoeing  and  weeding  among  them, 
as  we  drove  over  the  rolling  swell  towards  Astankina. 
This  is  a  summer  palace  and  park  belonging  to  Count  Che- 
remetieff.  The  grounds  are  laid  out  in  the  style  of  Ver- 
sailles, and  kept  in  excellent  order.  One  is  astonished  at 
the  richness  and  luxuriance  of  the  foliage,  and  the  great 
variety  of  trees  which  are  found  in  this  severe  climate. 
The  poplar,  the  linden,  the  locust,  the  elm,  the  ash,  and  the 
horse-chesnut  thrive  very  well,  with  a  little  care  and  protec- 
tion. Around  the  garden,  with  its  clipped  hedges,  flower- 
beds and  statues,  stretches  for  many  a  verst  a  forest  of  tall 
firs,  which  breaks  the  violence  of  the  winter  winds.  Here 
was  the  scene  of  one  of  those  gigantic  pieces  of  flattery, 
by  which  the  courtiers  of  Catharine  II.  sought  to  win  or 
keep  her  favor.  During  a  visit  of  that  Empress  to  Astan- 
kina, she  remarked  to  the  proprietor :  "  Were  it  not  for  the 
forest,  you  would  be  able  to  see  Moscow."  The  latter  im- 
mediatety  set  some  thousands  of  serfs  to  work,  and  ua  a 
tew  days  afterwards  prevailed  upon  the  Empress  to  pay 
him  another  visit.  "Your  Majesty,"  he  said,  "regretted 
that  the  forest  should  shut  out  my  view  of  Moscow.  It 


866  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

shall  do  so  no  longer."  He  thereupon  waved  his  hand, 
and  there  was  a  movement  among  the  trees.  They  rooked 
backward  and  forward  a  moment,  tottered,  and  fell  crashing 
together,  breaking  a  wide  avenue  through  the  forest,  at  the 
end  of  which  glitterel  in  the  distance  the  golden  domes 
of  the  city. 

Petroffskoi  is  a  a  glaring,  fantastic  palace,  on  the  St. 
Petersburg  road,  about  two  miles  from  Moscow.  It  was 
built  by  the  Empress  Elizabeth,  and  its  architecture  seema 
to  have  been  borrowed  from  that  of  the  Kremlin.  Here 
Napoleon  took  up  his  quarters,  after  being  roasted  out  of 
the  latter  place.  Hence  also  started  the  coronation  proces- 
sion of  Alexander  II..  probably  one  of  the  grandest  pa- 
geants ever  witnessed  in  Europe.  The  park,  which  i* 
traversed  by  handsome  carriage-roads,  is  at  all  times  open 
to  the  public,  and  on  a  clear  summer  evening,  when  whole 
families  of  the  middle  class  come  hither,  bringing  their 
samovars,  and  drinking  their  tumblers  of  tea  flavored  witli 
lemonpeel,  in  the  shade  of  the  birch  and  linden  groves, 
the  spectacle  is  exceedingly  animated  and  cheerful.  There 
is  also  in  this  park  a  summer  theatre,  in  which  French  vau- 
devilles are  given. 

Moscow,  however,  can  boast  of  possessing  a  spot  for  sum- 
mer recreation,  the  like  of  which  is  not  to  be  found  in 
Paris.  The  Hermitage,  the  principal  resort  of  the  fashion- 
able world,  is  a  remarkably  picturesque  garden,  with  a 
theatre  and  concert  hall  in  the  open  air.  It  lies  upon  the 
side  of  a  hill,  at  the  foot  of  which  is  a  little  lake,  embow- 
ered in  trees.  Beyond  the  water  rise  massive  zigzag  walls, 
the  fortifications  of  a  Tartar  city,  whose  peaked  roofs  climb 


MOSCOW,   IN-DOOKS    AND    OUT.  86? 

an  opposite  hill,  and  stretch  far  away  into  the  distance,  the 
farthest  towers  melting  into  the  air.  And  yet  the  whole 
thing  is  a  scenic  illusion.  Three  canvas  frames,  not  a  him 
dred  yards  from  your  eye,  contain  the  whole  of  it.  Thou- 
sands of  crimson  lamps  illuminate  the  embowered  walks, 
and  on  the  top  of  the  hill  is  a  spacious  auditorium,  inclosed 
by  lamp-lit  arches.  On  a  stage  at  one  end  are  assembled  a 
company  of  Russian  gipsies,  whose  songs  are  as  popular 
here  as  the  Ethiopian  melodies  are  with  us.  The  gipsies 
are  born  singers,  and  among  the  young  girls  who  sing  to- 
night there  are  two  or  three  voices  which  would  create  an 
excitement  even  on  the  boards  of  the  Italian  Opera.  The 
prima  donna  is  a  superb  contralto,  whom  the  Russians  con- 
t  ider  second  only  to  Alboni.  She  is  a  girl  of  twenty-two, 
with  magnificent  hair  of  raven  blackness,  and  flashing  black 
eyes. 

There  are  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  singers,  in  all,  of 
whom  two-thirds  are  females.  A  portion,  only,  appear  to 
be  of  pure  gipsy  blood,  with  the  small  deep-set  eyes  and 
the  tawny  skin  of  Egypt.  Others  are  bright  blond,  with 
blue  eyes,  betraying  at  once  their  parentage  and  the  immo- 
rality of  the  tribe.  The  leader,  a  tall,  slender,  swarthy  man 
with  a  silver  belt  around  his  waist,  and  a  guitar  in  his  hand, 
takes  his  station  in  front  of  the  women,  who  are  seated  in 
a  row  across  the  stage,  and  strikes  up  a  wild,  barbaric 
melody,  to  which  the  whole  troop  sing  in  chorus.  It  is 
music  of  a  perfectly  original  character,  with  an  undertone 
of  sadness,  such  as  one  remarks  in  the  songs  of  all  rude  na- 
tions, yet  with  recurring  melodies  which  delight  the  ear, 
and  with  a  complete  harmony  in  the  arrangement  of  the 


«*68  TBAVJiLS   IN    POLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

parts.  Afterwards  the  swarthy  soprano  sings  the  favorite 
"  Troika'1''  (three-horse  team),  gliding  through  the  singulai 
breaks  and  undulations  of  the  melody  with  a  careless  ease_ 
to  which  the  exquisite  purity  of  her  voice  gives  the  highest 
charm.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  there  was  a  dance, 
which  resembled  in  many  respects  .hat  of  the  Arab  gha- 
vvazees,  although  not  quite  so  suggestive. 

My  time  was  so  much  occupied  by  the  many  sights  which 
I  have  been  endeavoring  to  paint  for  the  reader,  that  I  saw 
but  little  of  Moscow  society.  Besides,  my  visit  happened 
at  an  unfavorable  time,  so  many  families  being  absent  in 
the  country  or  on  their  travels.  The  breaking  down  of  the 
obstacles  which  the  late  Emperor  threw  in  the  way  of  Rus- 
sians leaving  their  country,  immediately  poured  a  flood  of 
Russian  travel  upon  the  rest  of  Europe.  Of  the  persons  to 
whom  I  had  letters  of  introduction — among  them  the  dis- 
tinguished author,  Pawlow — not  one  was  at  home.  Through 
the  kindness  of  Col.  Claxton,  however,  I  made  some  very 
pleasant  acquaintances,  and  had  a  glimpse,  at  least,  of  Rus- 
sian society. 

At  a  soiree  one  evening  I  was  very  agreeably  impressed 
with  the  manners  of  the  ladies.  French  is  still  the  language 
of  society,  even  with  the  Russians  themselves,  and  a  know 
ledge  of  it  is  quite  indispensable  to  the  stranger.  English 
\nd  German  are  occasionally  spoken,  and  with  that  ease 
and  purity  of  accent  for  which  the  Russians  are  distm 
guished.  I  was  glad  to  find  that  those  whom  I  met,  ladies 
as  well  as  gentlemen,  were  thoroughly  familiar  with  theii 
own  authors.  A  number  of  names,  which  I  htd  never 
heard  of  before,  were  mentioned  with  enthusiasm.  There 


MOSCOW,    IN-DOOES    AND    OtTl  3(50 

are  several  literary  papers  in  Moscow,  with  a  circulation  of 
from  twelve  to  fourteen  thousand  copies  each. 

Among  the  editors  and  literary  men  of  Moscow  I  found 
some  very  intelligent  gentlemen.  I  was  agreeably  surprised 
at  the  freedom  with  which  the  political  condition  of  the 
country,  and  the  reforms  in  progress,  are  discussed.  The 
prevailing  sentiment  was  that  of  entire  satisfaction — a  satis- 
faction best  expressed  by  the  earnestness  and  brevity  of  the 
exclamation :  "  If  it  will  only  last ! "  With  regard  to  the 
emancipation  of  the  serfs,  I  was  told  that  public  opinion  is 
decidedly  in  favor  of  it,  including  a  large  majority  of  the 
proprietors.  The  fact  that  the  serfs  themselves,  under  the 
knowledge  of  the  great  change  which  awaits  them,  are  so 
quiet  and  patient,  is  considered  a  promising  sign.  The 
most  difficult  question  connected  with  the  reform  is  that  of 
attaching  the  latter,  for  a  time  at  least,  to  the  domains. 
They  have  the  Nomadic  blood  of  the  Tartars,  and  the 
attempt  is  being  made  to  achieve  by  self-interest  what  has 
been  hitherto  done  by  force.  But  the  nobles  will  not  give 
their  land  for  nothing,  and  the  serfs  will  not  pay  for  what 
they  now  have  gratis.  A  compromise  is  therefore  pro- 
posed, by  which  the  serfs  receive  their  houses,  and  will  be 
allowed  to  purchase  a  certain  portion  of  land  on  easy  terms, 
if  they  choose. 

In  Russia  old  things  are  now  passing  away,  and  a  new 
order  of  things  is  coming  into  existence.  Many  curious 
characteristics  and  customs  which  bear  the  stamp  of  five 
centuries,  are  beginning  to  disappear,  and  this  change  is  at 
last  making  itself  felt  even  in  Moscow — the  very  focus  of 
Russian  nationality.  When  the  Locomotive  once  enters  a 


370  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA 

city  the  ghosts  of  the  Past  take  flight  for  ever.  Thorn 
sounding  highways  of  international  communication  are 
more  potent  than  any  ukase  of  Peter  the  Great  to  wean 
the  people  from  their  cherished  superstitions.  Moscow 
may  thus,  gradually,  lose  its  power  of  reproducing  the 
past  conditions  of  the  Russian  people,  but  it  will  always 
t'aithfully  reflect  their  character.  It  will  always  remain  the 
illuminated  title-page  to  the  history  of  the  empire.  Other 
capitals  may,  in  the  course  of  time,  be  built  on  the  shores 
of  the  Caspian  or  the  banks  of  the  Amoor,  but  they  will 
never  take  away  from  Moscow  its  peculiar  distinction  of 
representing  and  illustrating  the  history,  the  growth,  the 
religion,  the  many-sided  individuality  of  RuwsU. 


CHAPTER     XXXIII. 

RAILROADS       IN       RUSSIA. 

ON  leaving  Moscow  for  St.  Petersburg  we  were  obliged  tc 
take  out  fresh  passports,  giving  up  those  which  we  had 
obtained  in  Warsaw.  As  one  is  required  to  appear  person- 
ally, this  formality  is  a  little  troublesome,  but  we  were  sub- 
jected to  no  questioning,  and  the  documents  were  ready  at 
the  time  promised.  After  paying  the  fees,  we  were  about 
to  leave,  when  the  official  whispered :  "You have  forgotten 
my  tea-money."  The  readiness  with  which  he  changed  a 
note,  while  the  subordinates  looked  the  other  way,  prove  1 
to  me  that  this  system  of  gratuities  (to  use  a  mild  term )  i 
not  only  general,  but  permitted  by  the  higher  authoritk- 
Many  of  the  civil  officers  have  salaries  ranging  from  six  to 
Ven  rubles  a  month — barely  enough  to  clothe  them — so  that 
without  this  "  tea-money,"  the  machinery  of  government 
would  move  very  slowly. 

I  also  went  to  the  office  of  the  Censor,  to  inquirs  con- 
cerning the  fate  of  the  books  taken  from  me  on  the  Polish 
frontier.  Here  I  was  very  politely  received,  and  was  in 


372  TRAVELS    IX    POLAND    AND   RUSSIA. 

formed  that  the  books  had  not  arrived.  The  Get  sor 
seemed  a  little  embarrassed,  and  I  half  suspected  that  the 
books  might  be  on  the  prohibited  list.  Kohl's  work,  I  was 
informed,  belongs  to  this  class,  although  I  saw,  in  the  shop- 
windows,  books  which  I  should  have  supposed  were  much 
more  objectionable  than  his.  It  is  permitted  to  all  literary 
and  scientific  men,  however,  to  import  freely  whatever 
works  they  choose.  The  list  of  foreign  newspapers  admitted 
into  Russia  has  recently  been  much  enlarged,  but  they 
also  pass  through  the  Censor's  hands,  and  one  frequently 
sees  paragraphs  or  whole  columns  either  covered  with  a 
coating  of  black  paste,  or  so  nicely  erased  that  no  sign  of 
printer's  ink  is  left. 

During  our  stay  in  Moscow  we  lodged  at  the  Hotd  cU 
Dresde,  which  I  can  conscientiously  recommend  to  future 
travellers.  It  is  a  large,  low  building  on  the  Government 
square,  at  the  corner  of  the  Tverskaia  Oulitza,  and  conve- 
nient to  the  Kremlin.  The  only  discomfort,  which  it  shares 
in  common  with  the  other  hotels,  is,  that  the  servants  are 
all  Russian.  We  obtained  a  large,  pleasant  room  for  two 
rubles  a-day,  and  a  dinner,  cooked  in  the  most  admirable 
style,  for  a  ruble  each.  Other  charges  were  in  the  same 
proportion;  so  that  the  daily  expense  was  about  $3.  As 
there  is  no  table  dShdte,  the  meals  being  served  in  one's  own 
room,  this  is  rather  below  Xew  York  prices.  A  German 
authcr,  who  resided  two  years  in  Moscow,  gave  me  $1,000 
»s  a  fair  estimate  of  the  annual  expense  of  living  for  a 
bachelor.  House-rent  and  the  ordinary  necessaries  of  lifa 
are  cheap;  but  luxuries  of  all  kinds,  clothing,  etc.,  are  verj 
dear. 


RAILROADS    I>    RUSSIA.  378 

On  the  northern  side  of  the  city,  just  outside  tLe  low 
earthen  barrier,  stands  the  great  Railroad  Station.  The 
pi'incipal  train  for  St.  Petersburg  leaves  daily  at  noon,  and 
reaches  its  destination  the  next  morning  at  eight — 600 
\  ersts,  or  400  English  miles,  in  twenty  hours.  The  farer 
are  respectively  19,  13  and  9  rubles,  for  the  first,  second 
and  third  class.  The  station  building  is  on  the  most  im- 
posing scale,  and  all  the  operations  of  the  road  are  con- 
ducted with  the  utmost  precision  and  regularity,  although 
perhaps  a  little  slower  than  in  other  countries.  The  first 
class  carriages  are  divided  into  compartments,  and  luxurr 
ously  cushioned,  as  in  England ;  the  second-class  are  ar- 
ranged exactly  on  the  American  plan  (in  fact,  I  believe 
they  are  built  in  America),  except  that  the  seats  are  not  BO 
closely  crowded  together.  The  entrance  is  at  the  end,  over 
a  platform  on  which  the  brakeman  stands,  as  with  us.  As 
the  day  of  our  departure  happened  to  be  Monday,  which  is 
considered  so  unlucky  a  day  among  the  Russians  that  they 
never  travel  when  they  can  avoid  it,  there  was  just  a  com- 
fortable number  of  passengers.  We  bade  adieu  to  OUT 
obliging  friend,  Col.  Claxton,  whose  kindness  had  contri- 
buted so  much  to  the  interest  of  our  visit,  and,  as  the  dial 
marked  noon,  steamed  off  for  St.  Petersburg. 

Straight  as  sunbeams,  the  four  parallel  lines  of  rail  shoot 
away  to  the  north-west,  and  vanish  far  off  in  a  sharp  point 
on  the  horizon.  Woods,  hills,  swamps,  ravines,  rivers,  may 
intersect  the  road,  but  it  swerves  not  a  hair  from  the  direct 
course,  except  where  such  deflection  is  necessary  to  keep 
the  general  level  between  Moscow  and  the  Volga.  Aftei 
Bussing  the  Valdai  Hills,  about  half-way  to  St.  Petersburg, 


374  TRAVKI.S    IN    1'OLAXD    AND    RUSSIA 

the  course  is  almost  as  straight  as  if  drawn  with  a  ruler  foi 
the  remaining  two  hundred  miles.  The  Russians  say  thia 
road  is  only  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  article  of  luxury, 
The  Emperor  Nicholas  consulted  his  own  convenience  and 
the  facility  of  conveying  troops  rather  than  the  convenience 
of  the  country  and  the  development  of  its  resources.  By 
insisting  upon  the  shortest  possible  distance  between  the 
two  cities,  he  carried  the  road  for  hundreds  of  versts  through 
swamps  where  an  artificial  foundation  of  piles  was  neces- 
sary; while,  by  bending  its  course  a  little  to  the  south, 
nearer  the  line  of  the  highway,  not  only  would  these 
swamps  have  been  avoided,  but  the  cities  of  Novgorod, 
Valdai,  and  Torshok,  with  the  settled  and  cultivated  regions 
around  them,  would  have  shared  hi  the  advantages  and 
added  to  the  profits  of  the  road. 

In  its  construction  and  accessories,  one  can  truly  say  that 
this  is  the  finest  railway  in  the  world.  Its  only  drawback 
is  an  occasional  roughness,  the  cause  of  which,  I  suspect, 
lies  in  the  cars  rather  than  the  road  itself.  There  are 
thirty-three  stations  between  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg. 
At  the  most  of  these,  the  station-houses  are  palaces,  all 
built  exactly  alike,  and  on  a  scale  of  magnificence  which 
Acorns  expense.  A  great  deal  of  needless  luxury  has  been 
wasted  upon  them.  The  bridges,  also,  are  models  of 
solidity  and  durability.  Everything  is  on  the  grandest 
scale,  and  the  punctuality  and  exactness  of  the  running  ar- 
rangements are  worthy  of  all  praise.  But  at  what  a  cost 
has  all  this  been  accomplished  !  This  road,  400  miles  ic 
length,  over  a  level  country,  with  very  few  cuts,  embank- 
ments, and  bridges,  except  between  Moscow  and  Tvei 


RAILEOADS    IN   RUSSIA.  3£ 

(about  one-fourth  of  the  distance),  has  been  built  at  an 
expense  of  120,000,000  of  rubles  ($90,000,000)  or  $225,000 
per  mile.  When  one  takes  into  consideration  the  cheap 
ness  of  labor  iu  Russia,  the  sum  becomes  still  more  enor- 
mous. 

The  work  was  not  only  conducted  by  American  engineers 
but  Mr.  Winans,  the  chief-engineer,  is  at  present  carrying 
on  the  running  business  under  a  contract  with  the  Govern- 
ment. His  principal  assistants  are  also  Americans.  This 
contract,  which  was  originally  for  ten  years,  has  yet  three 
years  to  run,  at  the  end  of  which  time  Mr.  Winans  will  be 
able  to  live  upon  what  he  has  earned.  His  annual  profii 
upon  the  contract  is  said  to  be  one  million  rubles.  Some 
idea  of  its  liberal  character  may  be  obtained  from  the  fact 
that  his  allowance  for  grease  alone  is  three  silver  copeks  a 
verst  for  each  wheel — about  3^  cents  a  mile ;  or,  with  an 
ordinary  train,  some  $700  for  the  run  from  Moscow  to  St. 
Petersburg.  His  own  part  of  the  contract  is  faithfully  and 
admirably  discharged,  and  he  is  of  course  fairly  entitled  to 
all  he  can  make.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  however* 
that  the  receipts  of  the  road  in  1857  exceeded  the  expendi- 
tures by  a  few  thousand  rubles  only. 

The  fact  is,  even  yet,  the  road  does  not  appear  to  be  con 
ducted  with  a  view  to  profit.  The  way  traffic  and  travel 
which  railroad  companies  elsewhere  make  it  a  point  to  en- 
courage, is  here  entirely  neglected.  There  are  none  but 
through  trains,  and  but  a  single  passenger  train  daily. 
Besides  this,  no  freight  is  taken  at  the  way  stations,  unless 
there  should  happen  to  be  a  little  room  to  spare,  after  the 
through  freight  is  cared  for.  TV  or,  through  which  tne  road 


376  TRAVJ£LS    IX   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

passes,  is  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Volga,  and 
after  Nijni  Novgorod,  the  chief  centre  of  trade  with  the 
regions  watered  by  that  mighty  river,  as  far  as  the  Caspian 
Sea ;  yet,  I  am  informed,  there  is  no  special  provision  made 
for  affording  the  facilities  of  communication  which  the 
place  so  much  needs. 

Russia,  however,  is  soon  to  be  covered  with  a  general 
system  of  railroad  communication,  which,  when  completed, 
must  exercise  a  vast  influence  on  her  productive  and  com- 
mercial activity.  A  road  from  Moscow  to  Xijni  Xovgorod 
on  the  Volga,  where  the  grand  annual  fair  is  held,  has  been 
commenced,  and  will  probably  be  finished  in  from  three  to 
five  years.  The  distance  is  about  250  miles,  and  the  esti- 
mated expense  $50,000  per  mile.  The  road  from  St.  Peters- 
burg to  Warsaw — a  little  over  700  miles  in  length — has 
b*en  in  progress  for  some  years  past,  and  will  be  finished, 
it  is  said,  by  the  close  of  the  year  1 860.  In  September, 
1858,  it  was  opened  as  far  as  Pskov  (German  "Pleskow"), 
at  the  head  of  Lake  Peipus,  and  will  probably  reach  Dwina- 
burg,  whence  a  branch  road  to  Riga  is  now  building,  in  the 
course  of  1859.  Near  Kovno  it  will  be  intersected  by 
another  branch  from  Konigsburg,  via  Tilsit  and  Gunibin 
neu,  whereby  there  will  be  a  direct  communication  betweet 
St.  Petersburg  and  Berlin. 

The  other  projected  roads,  the  building  of  which  h&a 
been  contracted  for  by  a  French  company,  but  not  yet  com 
menced,  are  from  Libau,  on  the  Baltic,  easterly  through 
Witepsk  and  Smolensk  to  the  large  manufacturing  town  of 
Tula,  11'2  miles  south  of  Moscow;  and  another  from  the 
latter  city  to  Charkoff,  in  the  Ukraine,  with  branches  tc 


liAlLKOADS   IN    RUSSIA.  379 

Odessa  and  the  Crimea.  The  former  of  these  will  be  nearly 
700  miles  in  length,  and  the  latter  at  least  1,000.  The 
cheapest  plan  for  the  Russian  Government  to  build  rail- 
roads, would  undoubtedly  be,  to  permit  the  formation  of 
l>ri\ate  companies  for  that  purpose.  In  Middle  and  South 
i'rn  Russia,  the  cost  of  construction  would  certainly  be  no 
greater  than  in  Illinois,  where,  if  I  remember  rightly,  the 
roads  are  built  for  half  the  amount  of  the  lowest  estimate  I 
heard  given  in  Moscow.  The  effect  of  these  improvements 
upon  tne  :nternal  condition  of  Russia  can  hardly  be  over- 
valued. They  are  in  fact  but  the  commencement  of  a  still 
grander  system  of  communication,  which,  little  by  little, 
will  thrust  its  iron  feelers  into  Asia,  'and  grapple  with  the 
inertia  of  four  thousand  years. 

To  return  to  our  journey.  The  halts  at  the  way  stations 
vrere  rather  long — five,  ten,  fifteen  minutes,  and  at  Tver, 
where  we  arrived  at  five  o'clock,  half  an  hour  for  dinner. 
In  vhis  respect,  as  in  every  other,  the  arrangements  were 
most  convenient  and  complete.  We  had  a  good  meal  at  a 
reasonable  price,  and  were  allowed  a  rational  time  to  eat  it. 
At  every  one  of  the  other  stations  there  was  a  neat  booth 
provided  with  beer,  qvass,  soda  water,  lemonade,  cigars, 
and  pastry.  Most  of  the  passengers  got  out  and  smoked 
their  cigarettes  at  these  places,  as  the  practice  is  not  allowed 
inside  the  cars.  There  is  a  second-class  carriage  especially 
for  smokers,  but  one  is  obliged  to  take  out  a  license  to 
smoke  there,  for  which  he  pays  ten  rubles.  The  Russians 
are  nearly  all  smokers,  but  the  custom  is  very  strictly  pro 
nibited  in  the  streets  of  cities,  and  even  in  the  small  com? 
try  villages. 


878  TRAVELS  IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

The  country,  slightly  undulating  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Moscow,  becomes  level  as  you  approach  the  Volga.  Tha 
monotony  of  which  I  have  spoken  in  a  previous  chapter,  if 
its  prevailing  chara  jteristic.  Great  stretches  of  swamp  01 
of  pasture-ground,  fields  of  rye  and  barley,  and  forests  of 
fii  and  birch,  succeed  one  another,  in  unvarying  sameness. 
Now  and  then  you  have  a  wide  sweep  of  horizon — a  green 
sea,  streaked  with  rosy  foam-drifts  of  flowers — a  luxuriant 
summer-tangle  of  copse  and  woodland,  or  a  white  village 
church,  with  green  domes,  rising  over  a  silvery  lake  of  rye ; 
and  these  pictures,  beautiful  in  themselves,  do  not  become 
less  so  by  repetition.  The  Volga  is  certainly  the  most  inter- 
esting object  in  the  whole  course  of  the  journey.  Tver,  a 
city  of  20,000  inhabitants,  on  its  right  bank,  is  conspicuous 
from  the  number  of  its  spires  and  domes.  Along  the  bank 
lie  scores  of  flat-bottomed  barges,  rafts,  and  vessels  of  light 
draft.  The  river  here  is  scarcely  so  large  as  the  Hudson 
at  Albany,  flowing  in  a  sandy  bed,  with  frequent  shallows. 
But,  like  the  Danube  at  TJlni,  it  is  not  the  smalluess  of  the 
stream  which  occupies  your  thoughts.  You  follow  the 
waters,  in  imagination,  to  the  old  towns  of  Yaroslav  and 
Nijni  Novgorod,  to  the  Tartar  Kazan  and  the  ruins  of  Bui- 
gar,  through  the  steppes  of  the  Cossacks  and  Kirghizes,  to 
the  Caspian  Sea  and  the  foot  of  ancient  Caucasus. 

The  sky  was  heavily  overcast,  so  that,  in  spite  of  onj 
high  latitude,  the  night  was  dark.  I  therefore  did  not  see 
the  Valdai  hills,  which  we  passed  towards  midnight — the 
only  real  hills  in  Russia  proper,  west  of  the  Ural  Mountains. 
It  was  among  these  hills  that  Alexander  I.  intrenched  him- 
•elf,  to  await  Napoleon.  When  the  morning  twilight  came, 


RAILROADS   IN    RUSSIA.  37t 

we  were  in  the  midst  of  the  swampy  region,  careering 
straight  forward,  on  and  on,  over  the  boundless  level.  Tli€ 
only  object  of  note  was  the  large  and  rapid  river  VolchofF, 
flowing  from  the  Hmen  Lake  at  Novgorod  northward  intc 
Lake  Ladoga.  The  road  crosses  it  by  a  magnificent  Ameri 
can  bridge. 

Some  fifty  or  sixty  versts  before  reaching  St.  Petersburg, 
we  passed  through  a  large  estate  belonging  to  the  rich 
Russian,  Kokoreff,  who  has  lately  been  distinguishing  him- 
self by  the  prominent  part  he  has  taken  in  all  measures 
tending  to  the  improvement  of  his  country — the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  serfs,  the  steamboat  companies  of  the  Dnieper 
and  Dniester,  the  formation  of  a  moneyed  association  for 
encouraging  manufactures,  &c.  This  Kokoreff  was  the 
son  of  a  common  peasant,  and  commenced  lue  by  keeping 
a  cheap  brandy-shop.  He  gradually  prospered,  and,  being 
a  man  of  much  natural  shrewdness  and  energy,  took  the 
contract  for  the  brandy  revenue  of  the  whole  Empire, 
which  is  farmed  out.  He  is  worth  about  seven  millions  of 
rubles,  much  of  which  he  has  invested  in  landed  property. 
He  has  now  set  himself  to  «vork  to  introduce  improvements 
in  agriculture,  and  his  estate  presents  a  striking  contrast  to 
that  of  his  neighbors.  Neat,  comfortable  houses  for  the 
laborers,  spacious  barns  for  the  grain,  forests  trimmed  and 
protected,  meadows  drained,  rough  land  cleared  and  pre- 
pared for  culture — these  were  some  of  the  features  which 
struck  my  eye,  as  we  rushed  along.  Kokoreff  is  charged 
by  some  with  being  extravagant  and  fantastic  in  hii 
views,  and  therefore  an  unsafe  example  to  follow;  but  a 
man  who  makes  such  an  employment  of  his  means,  cannot 


380  TKAVELS   IN    POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

do  otherwise    than   work    real   and   lasting  good  for   hit 
country. 

By  and  by  vegetable  gardens  succeeded  to  the  swampq 
villages  became  more  frequent,  houses,  smoking  factories, 
and  workshops  on  our  right,  then  a  level,  uniform  mass  of 
buildings,  over  which  towered  some  golden-tipped  spiies, 
and  at  eight  o'clock,  precisely,  we  landed  in  the  station  at 
St.,  Petersburg. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

ST.     PETERSBURG     AND     ITS     PALACBB. 

No  two  cities  can  be  more  unlike  than  Moscow  and  St. 
Petersburg ;  they  scarcely  appear  to  have  been  built  by 
the  same  people.  Were  it  not  for  some  of  the  older 
churches,  which  seem  curiously  out  of  place,  a  traveller 
coming  from  the  former  city,  would  imagine  that  he  had 
already  left  Russia.  The  strange,  fantastic,  picturesque, 
Tartar  character  has  disappeared,  and  all  that  one  sees  is 
suggestive  of  Western  Europe.  This  is  but  the  first  im- 
pression, however.  The  second  is  that  of  a  power  so  colossal 
as  to  coerce  nature  herself — a  power  which  can  only  be 
developed  when  unbounded  resources  are  placed  under 
the  direction  of  a  single  will — and  herein  we  again  recog- 
nise Russia.  St.  Petersburg  is  also  a  marvel  in  its  way, 
and  if  the  interest  which  it  excites  is  of  a  totally  different 
character  from  that  which  one  feels  in  Moscow,  it  is  no  less 
imposing  and  permanent. 

No  man  except    IVter  the  (rreat  would  have  conceived 
the  idea  of  building  a  city  here.     Yet,  if  we  leave  out  of 


182  TRAVELS   IN    POLAND   AND   RUSSIA, 

sight  the  physical  difficulties  against  which  he  had  to  con- 
tend, and  consider  not  only  the  character  of  his  ambition, 
but  the  iuadequateness  of  any  other  site  on  the  Baltic 
coa*t  to  meet  its  designs,  we  cannot  see  that  he  could  have 
done  otherwise.  Had  he  selected  Nijni  Novgorod,  as  he 
first  intended,  the  heart  of  Russian  power  would  have  been 
placed  on  the  borders  of  Asia,  still  further  from  the  influ- 
ence of  European  civilization.  Russia,  in  this  case,  would 
never  have  attained  to  a  first  place  in  the  councils  of  Euro- 
pean nations.  It  was  necessary  to  approach  the  west. 
Finland  and  Livonia  were  at  that  time  in  the  possession  of 
Sweden,  and  Poland  was  still  a  nation.  Peter's  choice, 
therefore,  was  restricted  to  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Fin- 
land. Here,  truly,  he  might  have  found  other  sites  pre- 
senting fewer  natural  obstacles,  but  at  the  same  time  fewer 
natural  advantages.  The  Neva,  through  which  the  largest 
lake  in  Europe  pours  its  waters  into  the  sea,  afforded  a 
ready-made  communication,  not  only  with  Novgorod  and 
Onega,  but  with  a  large  portion  of  that  Finland  whose 
acquisition  he  even  then  ton-saw,  while  the  island  of  Cron- 
stadt,  guarding  the  entrance  from  the  Gulf,  offered  a  fitting 
station  for  his  infant  navy.  The  extreme  high  latitude  of 
the  new  capital  was  even  an  advantage  :  winter  was  his 
ally  then,  as  it  has  been  the  best  ally  of  Russia  in  later 
times.  And  the  wisdom  of  his  selection  has  just  again 
been  demonstrated,  when  the  combined  naval  strength  of 
Europe  lay  before  Cronstadt  and  did  not  dare  to  attack  it. 
IJnt  nothing  short  of  that  genius,  which  is  the  same  thing 
as  madness  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  would  have  undertaken 
the  work.  Here,  when-  the  Neva,  a  broad,  full,  rapid 


ST.   PETERSBURG    AND   ITS   PALACES  388 

stream,  spreads  itself  out  among  swampy  islands,  ctanpletely 
flooding  them  when  the  spring  freshets  have  burst  the  ice 
and  where  a  strong  south-west  wind  drives  the  waters  of 
the  Gulf  high  over  the  highest  land  the  city  stands  upon, 
have  arisen  clusters  of  gigantic  edifices,  mountains  of  ma- 
sonry, in  their  solid  durability  bidding  defiance  to  the 
unstable  soil.  The  marshy  shores  of  the  river  are  hidden 
under  league-long  quays  of  massive  granite;  millions  of 
piles  bear  aloft  the  tremendous  weight  of  palaces,  churches, 
obelisks,  and"  bridges;  and  four  grand  canals,  passing 
through  and  around  the  city,  so  tap  the  Neva  of  his 
menacing  strength  that  the  fearful  inundations  of  former 
years  cannot  be  repeated.  One  hundred  and  fifty  years 
have  passed  away  since  Peter  built  his  cottage  in  the  midst 
of  an  uninhabited  wilderness,  and  now  there  stands  on  the 
spot  one  of  the  first  of  European  capitals,  with  a  population 
of  more  than  half  a  million. 

The  town  was  first  commenced  on  the  northern  bank  of 
the  Neva,  on  the  Aptekarskoi,  or  Apothecary's  Island. 
In  cold  climates,  a  man  always  builds  his  house  fronting  the 
south.  Very  soon,  however,  the  southern  bank  received 
the  preference,  on  account  of  its  convenience  and  its  prox 
imity  to  a  little  rising  ground.  At  present  three-quart  ci> 
of  the  city,  if  not  more,  are  south  of  the  Neva,  the  remain- 
ing portion  being  scattered  over  the  two  large  islands  of 
Aptekarskoi  and  Vassili  Ostrov.  Those  who  know  Berlin, 
nan  form  a  tolerable  idea  of  those  parts  of  St.  Petersburg 
distant  from  the  river.  The  streets  are  alike  broad  and 
regular,  the  houses  high,  massive,  and  plain.  But  there  is 
Dot  the  sameness  and  lameness  of  the  Prussian  capital 


384  TRAVELS   IN    POI  AND    AND    RUSSIA. 

Even  in  July,  when  the  Court  was  absent,  the  fashionable 
world  off  on  its  travels,  and  nobody  at  home,  it  was  as 
lively  a  city  as  one  could  well  wish  to  see.  Five  thousand 
droshkies  and  as  many  carriages  rattle  hither  and  thither 
fiom  morning  till  night — or  rather,  continuously,  for  you 
can  see  to  read  in  the  streets  at  midnight,  and  they  are 
then  by  no  means  deserted.  Where  the  summer  is  so 
fleeting  it  is  doubly  enjoyed,  and  during  those  long,  deli- 
cious twilights,  especially,  no  one  remains  indoors  who  can 
get  out. 

The  approach  to  the  city  from  the  land  side  is  particu- 
larly tame.  On  such  a  dead  level  the  first  block  of  build- 
ings shuts  out  the  view  of  everything  beyond,  and  even 
when  you  reach  the  Nevskoi  Prospekt — the  Broadway  of 
St.  Petersburg — and  look  down  its  vista  of  three  miles,  the 
only  thing  you  see  is  the  gilded  spire  of  the  Admiralty 
Building,  at  the  end.  On  the  Neva,  only,  and  the  Admi- 
ralty Square,  can  you  get  anything  like  a  picture  broad 
enough  to  copy  and  carry  away  in  your  mind.  Proceeding 
down  the  Nevskoi  Prospekt  to  this  central  point,  you  are 
not  particularly  struck  with  the  architecture  on  either  hand. 
Everything  is  large,  substantial,  and  imposing,  but  nothing 
more.  Even  the  An nitshkoff  Palace,  which  you  see  on  the 
right,  as  you  approach  the  Fontanka  Canal,  does  not  parti- 
cularly impress  you.  The  bridge  over  the  canal,  however, 
demands  more  than  a  passing  glance.  At  each  end  are 
two  groups  in  bronze  by  a  Russian  sculptor,  whose  name  I 
am  sorry  not  to  know.  They  are  called  the  Horse-Ta- 
mers, each  representing  a  man  and  horse,  engaged  in  a 
violent  struggle  for  the  mastership.  The  style  of  taming 


ST.    PETERSBURG   AUTO   ITS   PAIACKS.  885 

has  no  resemblance  to  Mr.  Rarey's,  but  the  figures  are  very 
bold  and  spirited.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  pn-sented  eopiei 
of  two  of  these  groups  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  who  placed 
them  on  the  corners  of  the  Museum  front,  hi  Berlin,  where 
they  have  been  christened  by  the  people,  "  Progress  Pre- 
vented 'L  and  "  Reaction  Encouraged." 

Continuing  our  course  down  the  Nevskoi  Prospekt,  we 
pass  in  succession,  on  the  right,  the  Alexander  Theatre, 
the  Gostinnoi  Dvor,  or  Great  Bazaar,  and  the  Cathedral  of 
Our  Lady  of  Kazan.  The  latter  is  built  of  gray  Finland 
granite,  with  a  circular  colonnade  in  front,  copied  from  that 
of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome.  In  the  open  space  inclosed  by  the 
colonnade  are  bronze  statues  of  Kutusoff  and  Barclay  de 
Tolly.  The  buildings  on  either  hand  become  more  lofty 
and  imposing,  the  throng  in  the  street  greater,  and  soon 
after  crossing  the  last  of  the  canals,  the  Moika,  we  enter 
the  famous  Admiralty  Square — the  grand  centre  of  St. 
Petersburg,  around  which  are  grouped  its  most  important 
buildings  and  monuments.  Here  everything  is  on  such  a 
grand  scale,  that  the  magnitude  of  the  different  objects  is 
at  first  not  apparent  to  the  eye.  The  Square  is  about  a 
mile  in  length,  by  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  breadth.  In  front 
of  us  is  the  Admiralty  Building,  with  a  front  of  1,500  feet, 
and  wings  resting  on  the  Neva,  650  feet  in  length.  To  the 
right  of  it  is  the  Winter  Palace,  with  700  feet  front,  and 
still  further  the  Hermitage,  nearly  as  large.  Opposite 
these  two  is  the  Hotel  de  1'Etat  Major,  of  corresponding 
proportions,  while  the  Alexander  Column — a  monolith  of 
red  granite,  160  feet  in  height,  including  pedestal  and 
capital — rises  from  the  centre  of  the  square  between. 


386  TRAVELS    IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

Turning  to  the  left,  we  see  the  huge  golden  dome  of  the 
Izaak's  Cathedral  lifted  between  three  and  four  hundred 
feet  into  the  air,  and  gleaming  like  a  fallen  sun  on  the 
summit  of  granite  mountain.  The  western  end  of  the  great 
square  is  taken  up  by  the  Synod  and  Senate  Houses,  whose 
fronts  are  united  in  one  long  fa9ade  by  a  sort  of  triumphal 
arch.  Between  them  and  the  Admiralty,  on  the  bank  of 
the  Neva,  is  the  celebrated  equestrian  statue  of  Peter  the 
Great. 

Here  are  the  elements  of  an  architectural  panorama  of 
the  grandest  kind,  yet  the  general  effect  is  by  no  meana 
such  as  one  would  anticipate,  and  simply  because  one 
indispensable  condition  has  been  overlooked — proportion. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Izaak's  Cathedral,  there  is  not 
a  single  edifice  in  this  square  which  is  not  much  too  low 
for  the  extent  of  its  base.  Hence  they  all  appear  to  be 
lower  than  is  really  the  fact,  and  as  they  are  of  very  nearly 
uniform  height,  the  eye  ranges  around  the  square  seeking 
in  vain  for  some  picturesque  break  in  the  splendid  mono- 
tony. A  skilful  architect  might  have  at  least  mitigated  this 
fault,  but  those  who  planned  the  Admiralty  and  the  Winter 
Palace  seem  to  have  been  even  incapable  of  perceiving 
it.  The  latter  building  is  quite  disfigured  by  the  placing 
of  a  sort  of  half-story  above  the  true  cornice.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Izaak's  Cathedral,  of  which  I  shall  have 
more  to  say  presently,  is  one  of  the  very  finest  specimens 
of  modern  architecture  in  existence.  It  stands  in  the 
centre  of  a  small  square  of  its  own,  opening  into  that  of 
the  Admiralty  at  its  western  end ;  and  here,  decidedly,  is 
the  most  striking  view  in  St.  Petersburg.  On  one  side  ia 


ST.    PETERSBURG   AN1>   ITS   PALACES.  38? 


the  Cathedral,  on  the  other  the  Xeva,  against  \\  host)  spark- 
ling current  and  the  long  line  of  buildings  on  the  northern 
bank  gallops  Peter  on  his  huge  block  of  granite  ;  while  far 
in  front  the  Alexander  Column,  soaring  high  above  th* 
surrounding  buildings,  is  seen  in  its  true  proportions. 

Crossing  the  Square,  between  the  Admiralty  Building 
and  the  Winter  Palace,  we  stand  upon  the  bank  of  the 
Neva.  Directly  opposite  opens  the  main  branch,  or  little 
Neva,  dividing  Vassili  Ostrov  and  the  Aptekarskoi  Islands. 
The  river  is  here  more  than  a  third  of  a  mile  in  breadth, 
of  a  clear,  pale  green  color,  and  rapid  current.  At  the 
intersection  of  the  two  arms,  on  Vassili  Ostrov,  stands  the 
Exchange,  a  square  building  with  a  Gi'ecian  facade.  To 
the  left  of  it  is  the  long  front  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences, 
then  the  Academy  of  Arts,  and  at  the  extremity  of  our 
view,  where  the  main  branch  of  the  Neva  turns  northward 
into  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  the  School  of  Mines.  In  front 
of  the  Aptekarskoi,  and  separated  from  it  only  by  a  moat, 
is  the  old  fortress  of  Peter  and  Paul,  now  a  prison  for 
nobles,  with  its  tall-spired  church,  in  the  vaults  of  which 
rest  Peter  the  Great  and  all  the  monarchs  since  his  time. 
On  the  southern  bank,  on  which  we  stand,  a  row  of  palaces 
stretches  away  on  our  right  to  the  Trinity  Bridge,  beyond 
which  we  see  the  green  linden-trees  of  the  Summer  Gardens. 
From  either  shore  of  the  river,  or  from  the  bridges  which 
span  it,  the  pictures  are  always  broad,  bright,  and  cheerful. 
Splendid  granite  stairways  lead  down  to  the  water,  gayly- 
painted  boats  dart  to  and  fro,  little  steamers  keep  up  a 
communication  with  the  further  islands,  and  the  miles  of 
massive  quay  on  either  side  are  thronged  with  a  busj 


888  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND    AND   RUSSIA. 

populace  Here  the  midsummer  heat  is  always  tempered 
by  a  delightful  breeze,  and  the  very  sight  of  the  dancing 
water  is  cooling,  under  the  pale,  hot,  quiet  sky.  I  do  not 
wonder  at  the  enthusiasm  of  the  St.  Petersburgers  for  the 
Neva.  Its  water  is  so  remarkably  soft  and  sweet  that  they 
prefer  i .  to  all  other  water  in  the  world.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  always  carried  a  supply  with  him,  bottled,  when 
he  was  absent  from  the  capital.  The  stranger,  however, 
cannot  drink  it  with  impunity,  as  its  effect  on  an  unaccus- 
tomed body  is  medicinal  in  the  highest  degree. 

The  Winter  Palace  stands  upon  the  site  of  the  old  one, 
which  -vas  destroyed  by  fire  in  1837.  Kohl's  account  of 
this  latter  structure  is  worth  quoting.  "  The  suits  of 
apartments  were  perfect  labyrinths,  and  even  the  chief  of 
the  Imperial  household,  who  had  filled  that  post  for  twelve 
years,  was  not  perfectly  acquainted  with  all  the  nooks  and 
corners  of  the  building.  As  in  the  forests  of  great  land- 
holders, many  colonies  are  settled  of  which  the  owner 
takes  no  notice,  so  there  nestled  many  a  one  in  this  palace 
not  included  among  the  regular  inhabitants.  For  example, 
the  watchmen  on  the  roof,  placed  there  for  different 
purposes,  among  others  to  keep  the  water  in  the  tanks  from 
freezing  during  the  winter,  by  casting  in  red-hot  balls,  built 
themselves  huts  between  the  chimneys,  took  their  wives 
and  children  there,  and  even  kept  poultry  and  goats,  which 
fed  on  the  grass  of  the  roof:  it  is  said  that  at  last  some 
cows  were  introduced,  but  this  abuse  had  been  corrected 
before  the  palace  was  burnt."  Fortunately,  the  new  palace 
is  not  so  labyrinthine,  though  of  e  ,'i  >.'  extent.  During 
the  residence  of  Nicholas  there,  6,000  persons  frequently 


ST.    PETERSBURG    AND   ITS   PALACES.  389 

lived  in  it  at  one  time.  Strangers  are  freely  allowed  to 
visit  all  parts  of  it,  on  presenting  a  ticket,  which  the  major 
domo  gives  on  application.  Formerly,  the  visitor  was 
obliged  to  appear  in  full  dress,  but  in  the  general  relaxation 
of  laws  and  customs  which  has  followed  the  accession  of 
Alexander  II.,  this  rule  has  also  been  given  up.  Our 
Minister,  Mr.  Seymour,  informed  me  that  the  Emperor 
receives  American  citizens  in  ordinary  civil  dress,  not 
requiring  them  to  appear  in  Court  costume. 

There  is  no  other  Court  hi  Europe  which,  with  such 
immense  means  and  such  magnificent  appointments,  pre- 
serves so  great  a  simplicity.  The  freedom  from  ostentation 
or  parade  in  the  Imperial  Family  of  Russia,  except  upon 
stated  occasions,  is  a  very  agreeable  feature.  Nowhere 
else  does  the  monarch  walk  about  his  capital,  unattended. 
The  Empress,  even,  may  take  a  stroll,  if  she  likes.  We 
met  one  day  the  Czarevitch^  or  Crown  Prince,  with  two  of 
his  younger  brothers,  in  a  plain  two-horse  carriage,  with  a 
single  soldier  as  footman.  These  fine,  fresh,  handsome 
boys  were  quite  alone,  and  looked  as  if  they  were  compe- 
tent to  take  care  of  themselves.  The  grandfather  of  the 
reigning  Empress  was  a  Stallmeister  (Master  of  the  Horse) 
in  Darmstadt,  and  she  is  probably  indebted  to  him  for  her 
prudent,  amiable,  sensible  character.  Nicholas  was  aware 
of  her  descent,  but  he  widely  gave  his  sons  perfect  freedom 
to  choose  their  own  wives,  and  welcomed  her  as  cordially 
as  if  her  ancestry  dated  from  Julius  Caesar.  In  visiting  the 
palace,  I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  cheerful  plainness 
of  the  private  apartments,  \\hic-h  contrasted  mnarkablj 
with  the  pomp  and  dazzle  of  those  for  state  occasion* 


390          TRAVELS  IN  POLAND  AND 

To  describe  minutely  all  that  I  saw  in  the  Winter  Palace 
would  take  up  several  chapters.  We  were  between  two 
and  three  hours  iu  walking  slowly  through  the  principal 
halls  and  chambers.  A  large  number  of  these  are  devoted  to 
pictures,  principally  portraits  and  battle  scenes.  A  large 
room  contains  several  hundred  portraits  of  the  officers  who 
served  against  Napoleon  in  1813-14.  Then  follows  the  Hall 
of  the  Marshals,  with  few  and  full-length  figures,  some  of 
which  are  of  great  historical  interest.  Potemkiu  is  here 
represented  in  full  armor,  a  tall,  Apollonian  figure,  over  six 
feet  in  height,  with  a  fine  oval  head,  regular  and  handsome 
features,  soft  blue  eyes,  and  curly  golden  hair.  Suwarrow 
is  a  short  man,  with  large  benevolent  head,  very  broa  1  in 
the  temples,  where  phrenologists  place  the  organ  of  con- 
structiveness.  He  wears  a  plain  leather  jacket  and  breeches, 
and  resembles  nothing  so  much  as  an  old  Quaker  preacher. 
Barclay  de  Tolly  i^  tall,  slender,  stern,  and  thoughtful,  with 
a  prematurely  bald  head  ;  Kutusoff  short,  thick,  coarse,  and 
heavy-featured.  In  striking  contrast  with  these  personages 
is  Wellington,  with  his  cold,  prim,  English  face  and  small 
head. 

The  battle  pieces  represent  all  the  noted  fields  in  which 
Russian  arms  have  been  engaged,  from  Narva  to  Inker- 
maim — not  merely  an  ostentatious  display  of  victories,  but 
important  defeats  as  well,  so  that  the  series  presents  a  true 
historical  interest.  Narva  receives  as  prominent  a  place  aa 
Pultava,  Borodino  as  Leipzig,  Silistria  as  Ismail.  Many  of 
the  later  pictures  are  fine  works  of  art  :  the  illustrations  of 
ihe  Persian  and  Circa>»ian  wars,  especially,  are  full  of  rich 
dramatic  effect.  Altogether,  this  gallery  will  compart 


ST.    PETERSBUBO    AND   ITS    PALACES.  391 

very  well  with  that  of  Versailles.  One  of  the  most  inter 
esting  halls  is  that  devoted  to  the  coronation  gifts  received 
by  Alexander,  Nicholas,  and  the  present  Emperor.  The 
ancient  custom  is  still  preserved,  of  each  province  through 
out  the  Empire  sending  bread  and  salt  as  a  token  of  wel- 
come. But  the  loaf  is  carried  upon  a  massive  salver  of  gold 
and  silver,  of  the  rarest  workmanship,  and  the  salt  in  a  box 
or  cup  of  the  same  material,  studded  with  jewels.  The 
salvers  presented  to  the  two  former  Emperors  rise  in  daz- 
ling  pyramids  from  the  floor  nearly  to  the  ceiling,  but  they 
are  far  outshone  by  those  of  Alexander  II.,  who  received 
just  as  much  as  his  father  and  uncle  together.  If  the 
wealth  lavished  upon  these  offerings  is  an  index  to  the 
popular  feeling,  it  is  a  happy  omen  for  his  reign.  The 
taste,  richness,  and  variety  of  the  ornaments  bestowed  upon 
the  mighty  golden  salvers  exceeds  anything  of  the  kind  I 
ever  saw.  Their  value  can  only  be  estimated  by  millions 
It  is  significant,  perhaps,  that  the  largest  and  most  superb, 
which  occupies  the  place  of  honor,  in  the  centre  of  the 
glorious  pile,  is  the  offering  of  the  serfs  of  the  Imperial 
domains. 

We  were  admitted  into  the  room  containing  the  crown 
jewels,  which  are  arranged  in  glass  cases,  according  to 
their  character  and  value.  In  the  centre  is  the  crown  of 
Alexander,  a  hemisphere  of  the  purest  diamonds :  beside 
it  the  sceptre,  containing  the  famous  brilliant  purchased  by 
Catherine  II.  from  a  Greek  slave,  and  for  a  time  supposed 
to  be  the  largest  in  the  world.  It  turns  out  to  be  smallei 
than  the  Koh-i-nor,  though  (to  my  eyes,  at  least,)  of  a 
purer  water.  There  is  not  a  quarter  so  many  jewels  here 


392  TRAVEL   IN   POLAND   AND   BU8SIA, 

as  in  the  Treasury  at  Moscow,  yet  their  value  far  exceeds 
that  of  the  latter.  The  stones  are  of  the  largest  and  rarest 
kind,  and  the  splendor  of  their  tints  is  a  delicious  intoxica- 
tion to  the  eye.  The  soul  of  all  the  fiery  roses  of  Persia  lives 
in  these  rubies ;  the  freshness  of  all  velvet  sward,  whether 
in  Alpine  valley  or  English  lawn,  in  these  emeralds ;  the 
bloom  of  southern  seas  in  these  sapphires,  and  the  essence 
of  a  thousand  harvest  moons  in  these  necklaces  of  pearl. 

Before  leaving  the  Palace  we  were  conducted  to  a  small 
room  in  the  first  story,  in  the  north-western  corner.  Two 
Imperial  guardsmen  stood  at  the  door,  and  two  old  servants 
in  livery  were  in  a  little  ante-room,  one  of  whom  accom- 
panied us  into  the  narrow  chamber  where  Nicholas  lived 
and  died.  Nothing  has  been  changed  since  his  body  was 
carried  out  of  it.  The  hard  camp-bed  (so  small  and  narrow 
that  I  should  not  wish  to  sleep  upon  it)  stands  there,  beside 
his  writing-table.  On  a  stool  at  the  foot  lies  his  dressing- 
gown.  His  comb,  brushes,  gloves,  poeket-handkerchie^ 
knife,  and  pencil  are  carelessly  laid  upon  a  small  toilet-tablei 
under  a  very  moderate-sized  looking-glass.  A  plain,  green 
carpet  covers  the  floor,  and  the  half  dozen  chairs  are  lined 
with  green  leather.  The  walls  are  almost  concealed  by 
pictures,  either  landscapes  or  battle-pieces,  and  tew  of  them 
of  any  value.  Just  over  his  pillow  is  a  picture  of  a  verj 
pretty  young  girl  dressed  as  a  soldier.  It  was  scarcely 
possible  to  believe  that  the  occupant  of  this  room  had  been 
dead  for  more  than  three  years.  Every  object  suggest r 
life,  and  while  we  are  examining  them  we  half  expect  tc 
see  that  colossal  figure,  which  all  Europe  knew  so  well, 
appear  at  the  door.  The  only  thing  which  has  been  added 


ST.    PETERSBURG    AND    ITS   t'ALACBS.  891 

IB  a  very  beautiful  drawing  of  the  Emperor's  head,  a ftei 
death.  The  expression  upon  the  face  is  that  of  pain  and 
trouble,  not  the  serene,  impenetrable  calm  which  it  wore 
during  life. 

The  Hermitage,  adjoining  the  Winter  Palace,  was  built 
by  Catherine,  as  a  place  of  escape  from  the  fatigue  of  Court 
ceremonials,  and  of  quiet  conversation  with  a  few  privileged 
persons.  The  name  seems  to  have  been  jestingly  or  ironi- 
cally given.  Who  would  not  be  a  hermit  in  this  immense 
pile,  whose  walls  are  of  marble,  blazing  with  gold,  whose 
floors  are  of  the  choicest  inlaid  woods,  and  whose  furniture 
is  of  the  rarest  and  most  costly  workmanship  in  porphpry, 
jasper,  lapiz-la/uli  and  malachite?  Such  splendor  is  now  out 
of  place,  since  the  palace  has  been  given  up  to  the  Arts.  The 
vast  collection  of  pictures  accumulated  by  the  Russian  Em- 
perors is  here  displayed,  together  with  a  gallery  of  sculp- 
ture, one  of  the  finest  assortments  of  antique  gems  in  the 
world,  a  collection  of  Grecian  and  Etruscan  antiquities,  and 
a  library  of  rare  books  and  manuscripts.  The  picture  gal- 
lery is  particularly  rich  in  the  works  of  Rubens,  Vandyke, 
Rembrandt,  Murillo,  and  the  Dutch  school,  and  though  il 
contains  few  celebrated  master-pieces,  the  number  of  reall} 
good  pictures  is  remarkable.  They  occupy  betvreen  fort) 
an^  fifty  large  halls,  and  a  man  cannot  say  that  he  reall) 
knows  the  collection  in  less  time  than  a  week. 


CHAPTER   XXXV 

fZABSKO      SELO,      PAULOVSK      AND     THB 
ISLANDS. 

Osr*  of  my  first  excursions,  after  reaching  St.  Petersburg, 
was  to  the  hill  of  Pulkowa,  seventeen  versts  south  of  the 
city.  There,  in  the  magnificent  astronomical  Observatory 
built  during  the  reign  of  Nicholas,  dwelt  a  brother-in-law 
whom  I  had  never  seen,  and  there  was  born  the  first  child 
who  has  a  right  to  call  me  uncle.  Procuring  an  open 
caliche  with  three  horses — the  Russian  troika — we  left  St. 
Petersburg  by  the  Moscow  road,  which  issues  from  the  city 
through  a  tall  triumphal  arch.  The  main  ro:ul  is  a  hundred 
feet  broad,  with  a  narrower  highway  on  each  side,  divided 
from  it  by  a  double  row  of  trees.  At  the  end  of  the  seventh 
\  ?rst,  the  road  to  Moscow  strikes  off  to  the  left,  while  that 
t-D  Pulkowa  preserves  its  mathematical  straight  ness,  so  that 
its  termini,  the  triumphal  arch  ami  the  dome  of  the  Obser 
vat  cry,  are  visible  from  all  parts  of  it.  About  half-way 
there  is  a  German  colony  settled,  and  the  comfort  of  the 
houses,  no  less  than  the  blooming  appearance  of  the  littlf 


TZABSKO   SELO,    PAULOVSK    AXD   THE    ISLANDS.          o9£ 

gardens  and  orchards,  presents  an  agreeable  contrast  to  th" 
bare,  unadorned  Kussian  villages. 

The  hill  of  Pulko\va  is  the  nearest  rising  ground  to  St. 
Petersburg,  and  though  the  highest  point  is  only  some  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Baltic,  thi> 
elevation  is  sufficient  to  command  a  panorama  of  between 
forty  and  fifty  miles  in  diameter.  On  the  summit,  sur- 
rounded by  scattered  groves  of  fir  and  birch  trees,  is  the 
Observatory,  probably  the  most  perfectly  appointed  institu- 
tion of  the  kind  in  the  world.  The  cost  of  its  erection 
must  have  exceeded  a  million  of  dollars.  On  passing 
through  the  spacious  halls,  rotundas,  and  towers  with 
moveable  cupolas,  I  had  cause  to  regret  my  inability  tc 
appreciate  the  peculiar  excellence  of  the  splendid  instru- 
ments, and  the  ingenious  mechanical  contrivances  for  using 
them.  In  the  chief  tower  was  the  colossal  refractor  of 
Frauenhofer,  of  which  our  Cambridge  Observatory  (if  I 
remember  rightly)  possesses  the  only  counterpart.  The 
grand  hall  is  hung  with  portraits  of  distinguished  astrono- 
mers, among  whom  I  recognised  Hansen  and  Airy. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  passing  an  evening  with  the  Direc- 
tor of  the  Observatory,  the  venerable  Von  Struve,  whose 
name  is  well  known  in  America.  He  was  then  slowly 
recovering  from  an  illness  which  for  a  time  threatened  his 
life,  and  was  still  comparatively  feeble.  He  is  between 
sixty-five  and  seventy  years  old,  of  medium  stature,  with  a 
large,  symmetrical  head,  and  a  remarkably  benign  and  genial 
expression  of  countenance.  In  addition  to  his  astronomical 
acquirements  he  is  a  pi  rfound  Greek  scholar,  and  understand5 
tne  principal  modern  languages,  including  English,  which 


o96  TBAVBLS   IN    POLAND    AND   BUSSIA. 

he  speaks  witn  unusual  fluency  and  correctness  He  is  pei 
fectly  familiar  with  all  that  has  been  done  of  late  years  in 
America  for  the  encouragement  of  Astronomy  and  kindred 
sciences,  and  mentioned  the  names  of  Gould,  Pierce,  Gilliss, 
and  Maury  with  great  admiration.  Von  Struve  is  auothef 
example  of  the  truth  that  the  study  of  the  stars  need  not, 
as  in  Newton's  case,  make  a  man  indifferent  to  the  ameni- 
ties of  our  insignificant  terrestrial  life.  Like  other  astrono- 
mers of  my  acquaintance,  he  is  particularly  happy  in  his 
family  relations  and  takes  a  hearty  enjoyment  in  society. 
Leverrier  is  the  very  reverse  of  this,  if  what  I  have  heard 
of  him  be  true.  He  is  said  to  be  exceedingly  proud, 
reserved,  and  ostentatious  in  his  manner.  A  distinguished 
German  recently  visited  him  in  Paris,  with  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction. After  reading  it,  Leverrier  looked  up,  measured 
the  bearer  from  head  to  foot,  and  asked,  in  a  rude  imperti- 
nent tone :  "  Que  vowlezrvous  fn  "  Hien^  coolly  answered 
the  German,  as  he  bowed  and  withdrew. 

At  the  western  end  of  the  hill  is  a  pile  of  granite  boul 
ders,  on  which,  Tradition  says,  Peter  the  Great  sat  and 
planned  the  building  of  his  capital.  The  distance  from  thf 
city  is  too  great  to  make  the  story  probable.  It  is  very 
likely,  however,  that  this  may  have  been  one  of  the  Tzar's 
favorite  spots.  The  eye,  weary  of  a  narrow  horizon, 
inclosed  by  a  ring  of  dark  woods,  more  or  less  distinct, 
here  roves  with  delight  over  the  expanding  plain,  whose 
far  rim  is  lost  in  the  blue  evening  mists  of  the  Neva. 
The  many  spires  of  St.  Petersburg  sparkle  with  shifting 
lustres  in  the  sunset,  the  great  dome  of  St.  Izaak  blazing 
over  the  lessei  tights  like  the  moon  among  stars.  Whei 


TZAKSKO    SELO,   PAULOVSK   AND   THE   ISLANi>6.          391 

the  air  is  clear  Cronstadt  may  be  seen  in  the  west,  flouting 
on  the  sea-horizon. 

The  celebrated  Summer  Palace  and  park  of  Tzarsko 
Selo  are  seven  versts  beyond  Pulkowa.  The  grounds, 
which  are  of  immense  extent — eighteen  miles  in  circumfer- 
ence, it  is  said — are  always  open  to  the  public.  My  newly 
found  relative  had  been  kind  enough  to  procure  tickets  ot 
admission  to  the  palace  and  armory,  and  we  made  choice 
of  a  warm  Sunday  afternoon,  when  tens  of  thousands  come 
out  by  railroad  from  St.  Petersburg,  for  our  visit.  Enter- 
ing the  park  from  the  western  side,  we  found  ourselves  in 
the  midst  of  gently  undulating  fields,  dotted  with  groves 
of  fir,  ash,  and  birch — an  English  landscape,  were  the  green 
a  little  more  dark  and  juicy.  Here  was  a  dairy  farm,  there 
a  stable  for  elephants,  and  a  little  further  an  asylum  for 
pensioned  horses.  The  favorite  steeds  of  the  Emperor, 
after  his  death,  are  withdrawn  from  active  service  and  pass 
their  days  here  in  comfort  and  indolence.  One  or  two  of 
the  horses  of  Alexander  I.  are  still  on  the  list,  although 
their  age  cannot  be  less  than  forty  years.  At  each  of  these 
institutions  we  received  very  polite  invitations  from  the  ser. 
t ants  in  attendance  to  enter  and  inspect  them.  The  invita- 
tion was  sometimes  accompanied  by  the  words :  "  I  am  a 
married  man,"  or  "I  have  a  family,"  which  in  Russia 
means :  "  I  should  not  object  to  receive  a  gratuity."  I 
was  not  a  little  perplexed,  occasionally,  until  I  ascertained 
this  fact.  One  day,  while  standing  before  the  house  of 
Peter  the  Great,  in  the  Summer  Gardens,  a  soldier  came 
up  to  me  and  said  :  "  Pray  go  into  the  house,  my  lord :  the 
keeper  is  married." 


398 

The  Armory  is  a  brick  building  in  the  Gothic  style, 
standing  on  a  wooded  knoll  in  the  Park.  The  collection 
of  armor  is  one  of  the  finest  in  Europe,  and  its  arrangement 
would  delight  the  eye  of  an  antiquary.  From  the  ninth 
century  to  the  nineteenth,  no  characteristic  \veapon  or 
piece  of  defensive  mail  is  wanting,  from  the  lu-avy,  un- 
wieldy accoutrements  of  the  German  knights  to  the  chain 
shirts  of  the  Saracens  and  the  pomp  of  Milanese  armor, 
inlaid  with  gold.  One  of  the  cabinets  contains  two  sets  of 
horse  trappings  presented  by  the  Sultan  of  Turkey — the 
first  on  concluding  the  peace  of  Adrianople,  after  Diebitsch 
had  crossed  the  Balkan,  and  the  second  when  Ibrahim 
Pasha  menaced  Constantinople  and  the  Sultan  invoked  the 
aid  of  Russia.  The  latter,  naturally,  is  much  the  more 
splendid  of  the  two :  the  housings  and  pistol  holsters  blaze 
with  arabesques  of  the  largest  diamonds  There  are  many 
very  interesting  historical  relics  in  the  collection,  but  I  can- 
not give  the  catalogue.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  a  volume  of 
illustrations  has  been  published,  and  may  be  had  for  500 
rubles. 

As  we  advanced  toward  the  palace  the  grounds  gradually 
became  more  artificial  in  their  design  and  more  carefully 
tended.  The  sward  had  a  veritable  "  pile,"  like  imperial 
velvet :  it  appeared  to  have  been  combed  rather  than  raked. 
Not  a  dead  leaf  was  visible  on  the  exquisitely  smooth  gravel 
of  the  walks,  not  a  defective  bough  had  been  suffered  to 
remain  on  the  arching  avenues  of  linden  or  elm.  Nature 
seemed  to  have  taken  a  Turkish  bath  and  put  on  a  clean 
Sunday  dress.  There  is  not  an  ill  weed,  an  awkward  plant. 
*  frog,  toad,  snake,  or  bug,  in  this  expensive  Eden.  Usually, 


TZARSKO    SELO,   PAULO VSK   AND   THE   ISLANDS.          39£ 

a  gardener  walks  after  you  with  a  broom,  to  efface  any 
footprints  you  may  have  left  behind  you,  but  for  some 
reason  or  other  we  were  spared  this  attention.  Woe  unto 
7011  if  you  touch  a  flower!  But  there  is  little  danger  oi 
that:  you  would  as  soon  think  of  cutting  a  rose  out  of  a 
drawing-room  carpet,  as  of  thus  meddling  with  this  super- 
human order. 

In  the  course  of  our  walk  we  came  upon  a  ruined  abbey, 
so  capitally  imitated  that  if  it  stood  anywhere  else  even  ai 
old  traveller  might  be  deceived  by  it.  One  square  towei 
alone  is  standing,  and  in  this  tower,  which  you  reach  by  a 
wooden  staircase  built  over  the  ruins,  is  the  famous  statue 
of  Christ,  by  Dannecker,  the  sculptor  of  Ariadne  and  the 
Panther.  This  is  no  traditionary  Christ,  with  low  forehead 
and  straight,  insipid  features :  the  head  is  rather  that  of  a 
scholar  and  a  thinker.  You  are  at  once  struck  with  the 
individuality  of  the  figure.  He  is  repeseuted  as  speaking, 
turning  towards  the  left  and  slightly  leaning  forward.  A 
single  flowing  garment,  hanging  from  his  neck  to  his  feet, 
partly  conceals  the  symmetrical  yet  somewhat  delicate  form. 
The  head  is  large,  nobly  rounded  and  balanced,  with  a  pre- 
ponderance of  development  in  the  intellectual  and  moral 
regions  of  the  brain,  his  hair  long,  but  very  fine  and  thin, 
as  if  prematurely  thinned  by  thought,  the  beard  scanty, 
and  the  expression  of  the  countenance  at  once  grave,  gentle, 
and  spiritual  The  longer  I  looked  upon  it  the  more  I  was 
penetrated  with  its  wonderful  representation  of  the  attri 
butes  of  Christ — Wisdom  and  Love.  The  face  calmly  sur- 
veys and  comprehends  all  forms  of  human  passion,  with 
uity  for  the  erring,  joy  in  the  good,  and  tenderness  for  all 


400  TRAVELS  IN  POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

It  is  that  transcendent  purity  in  whose  presence  the  sinnei 
feels  no  repellant  reproof,  but  only  consolation. 

I  have  seen  few  statues  like  this,  where  the  form  is  lost 
sight  of  in  the  presence  of  the  idea.  In  this  respect  it  is  Dan 
necker's  greatest,  as  it  was  his  favorite  work.  He  devoted 
many  a  day  of  labor,  thought,  and  aspiiation  to  the  model 
ling  of  the  head.  When,  at  length,  it  was  completed  in 
clay,  a  sudden  distrust  in  his  success  overwhelmed  him. 
Having  no  longer  confidence  in  his  own  judgment  or  that  of 
his  artistic  friends,  he  one  day  took  a  little  uneducated  child 
into  his  studio,  placed  the  head  before  it,  and  said  :  "  Who 
is  this?"  The  child  looked  steadfastly  upon  the  features, 
so  unlike  the  conventional  Christ  of  artists,  and  withoat 
hesitation  answered :  "  It  is  the  Saviour."  The  old  man, 
himself  a  child  in  his  simplicity  and  sincerity,  accepted  thia 
•answer  as  a  final  judgment,  and  completed  his  work  in 
marble. 

Our  way  led  on  over  straight  Dutch  canals,  past  artificial 
hills  and  rock-work,  through  a  Chinese  village  which  resem- 
bles nothing  in  China,  and  under  Babylonian  hanging 
gardens,  to  the  front  of  the  palace,  which  is  1,200  feet  in 
length,  and  rises  from  the  crest  of  a  long  knoll,  gently 
sloping  down  to  a  lake.  Some  tine  oak  trees  adorn  the 
lawn;  on  the  top  of  a  granite  rock  a  bronze  nymph  u 
crying  over  her  broken  pitcher,  out  of  which  rushes  a 
stream  of  sparkling  water ;  and  on  the  lake  itself  a  pretty 
little  cutter  lies  at  anchor.  Arsenals  and  fortresses  ID 
miniature  stud  the  opposite  shore,  and  on  a  wooded  point 
stands  a  Turkish  kiosk  and  minaret,  the  interior  of  which 
is  a  sumptuous  oriental  bath,  presented  by  the  Sultan.  The 


TZARSKO    SELO,    PAULOVSK    AND   THE   ISLANDS.          401 

park  beyond  the  palace,  toward  the  village  of  Tzarsko  Selo 
Is  in  even  more  rigid  full  dress  than  that  through  whicb 
we  had  already  passed,  and  I  verily  believe  that  if  a  leaf 
gets  accidentally  twisted  on  its  stem,  some  one  is  on  hand 
to  set  it  right  again. 

All  the  pillars,  statues,  cornices,  and  ornaments  on  tht 
long  palace  front  were  covered  with  heavy  gilding  in  the 
time  of  Catharine  II.  When  they  began  to  look  a  little 
shabby  and  the  gold  needed  replacing,  the  Empress  was 
offered  half  a  million  of  rubles  for  the  scrapings,  but  she 
replied  Avith  a  magnificent  scorn  :  "  I  am  not  in  the  habit 
of  selling  my  old  rags."  The  Imperial  banner  of  Russia, 
floating  at  the  mast-head,  showed  that  the  family  were  at 
home,  but  we  were  nevertheless  allowed  to  enter.  A  "  mar- 
ried "  servant  conducted  us  through  the  apartments  once 
occupied  by  Catharine  and  Alexander  I.  Here  there  is 
much  that  is  curious,  though  no  splendor  comparable  to 
that  of  the  Winter  Palace,  or  the  Imperial  apartments  in 
the  Kremlin.  One  room  is  lined  entirely  with  amber,  a  • 
present  from  Frederick  the  Great.  The  effect  is  soft,  rich, 
and  waxy,  without  being  glaring.  In  others  the  panelling 
is  of  malachite  or  lapiz-lazuli.  Catherine's  bedchamber  has 
not  been  changed  since  she  left  it :  the  bed-posts  are  of 
purple  glass,  and  the  walls  lined  with  porcelain. 

Most  interesting  of  all,  however,  are  the  apartments 
occupied  by  Alexander  L,  in  which  every  article  has  been 
preserved  with  religious  veneration.  His  bed  is  a  very 
narrow  mattress  of  leather  stuffed  with  straw,  and  the  en- 
tire furniture  of  the  room  would  not  fetch  more  than  fiflj 
dollars  if  sold  at  auction.  On  the  toilet  table  lie  his  comb 


402  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

breeches,  razor,  and  a  clear,  pocket-handkerchief;  his  cltak 
hangs  over  a  chair,  and  his  well-worn  writing-desk  still 
shows  the  pens,  pencils,  bits  of  sealing-wax,  and  paper 
weights,  as  he  left  them.  His  boots,  I  noticed,  were  of 
very  thin  leather — too  thin  either  for  health  or  comfort— 
and  had  been  cracked  through  and  patched  in  severa 
places.  His  Majesty  had  evidently  discovered  how  mud 
more  agreeable  to  the  feet  are  old  boots  than  new  ones. 
But  he  is  quite  thrown  into  the  shade  by  Peter  the  Great, 
whose  boots,  at  Moscow,  would  weigh  ten  pounds  apiece, 
and  might  be  warranted  to  wear  ten  years  without  mend- 
ing. 

Towards  evening  we  took  droshkies  and  drove  to  Pau- 
lovsk,  which  is  about  three  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Tzarsko, 
Selo.  This  is  at  present  the  summer  residence  of  the  Grand 
Duke  Constantine,  but  the  park  is  at  all  times  free  to  the 
public.  It  is  of  great  extent,  the  aggregate  length  of  the 
walks  being  estimated  at  a  hundred  miles.  Here  Nature  is 
•  released  from  curling-tongs  and  stays  •  her  garments  adorn 
without  pinching  her,  and  her  hair  is  loosened  to  the  wind. 
For  this  reason,  Paulovsk  pleased  me  better  than  Tzarsko 
Selo.  Its  deep,  winding  dells,  threaded  by  natural  streams; 
its  opulent  woods  of  ash,  birch,  and  elm ;  its  sequestered 
walks,  branching  away  into  neglected  forest  solitudes,  and 
its  open,  sunny  lawns,  sweet  with  the  breath  of  the  half- 
raked  hay,  speak  of  genial  culture  rather  than  art.  There 
is  here  an  artitieial  lake,  surrounded  by  low  but  steep  hills, 
which  are  covered  with  summer  villas  And  terraced  gar- 
dens.  A  cutter  on  the  water  and  a  full-rigged  mizenmast 
planted  on  the  hill  behind  the  palace,  give  evidence  of  thf 


TZARSKO    SKLO,    PAULOVSK    AND   THE    ISLANDS.          403 

Grand  Duke's  naval  tastes.  Braisted,  with  a  sailor's  eye, 
criticised  the  rigging  of  the  mast  rather  sharply,  but  the 
princely  boys  who  run  up  and  down  these  shrouds  are  not 
expected  to  do  duty  before  the  mast,  and  so,  perhaps,  it 
makes  little  difference.  Besides,  to  learn  seamanship  on  a 
mizenmast  planted  in  the  woods,  is  like  learning  to  swim 
upon  your  dining-table. 

In  the  evening  some  thousands  of  Petersburghers  assem- 
bled around  a  pavilion  attached  to  the  railroad  station 
where  the  orchestra  of  the  younger  Strauss  added  music  to 
the  unbroken  twilight.  This  is  a  speculation  of  the  railroad 
company,  which  pays  Strauss  15,000  rubles  for  his  own  sei 
vices  during  the  summer  months.  I  had  heard  better  music 
performed  under  the  direction  of  his  celebrated  father,  and 
looked  at  the  crowd  rather  than  listened  to  the  band. 
Here  were  civil  and  military  gentlemen  mixing  like  oil  and 
vinegar  in  a  salad  ;  noble  ladies,  some  beautiful  and  all  well- 
dressed  ;  filles  dejoie^  rouged  and  crinolined,  hunting  alone 
or  in  couples ;  countless  nurses,  looking  after  children  in 
fancy  peasant  costume — red  shirt,  sash,  wide  trowsers,  and 
boots ;  pale,  slender  Circassian  officers,  resembling  antique 
Grecian  bas-reliefs ;  Persians  in  plenty,  each  with  an  entire 
black  sheep  towering  over  his  fox-like  face,  and  a  lively 
sprinkling  of  Armenian.-.  Co»acks,  and  Tartars.  When 
the  Kmperor  is  at  Imnie,  lit-  may  often  be  seen  here,  with 
the  Empress  on  his  arm  and  the  older  children  following, 
walking  in  the  crowd. 

We  devoted  one  evening  to  a  tour  of  the  islands,  the 
beauties  of  which  have  not  been  overpraised  by  travellers. 
There  are  forty,  altogether,  in  the  delta  of  the  Neva,  all  of 


404  TRAVELS   IN   POLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

which  are  included  within  the  precincts  of  the  city,  bul 
only  seven  of  them  are  of  any  considerable  size.  Many  ot 
the  smaller  ones  are  still  wild,  uninhabited  swamps,  fre 
quented  only  by  the  seal  in  summer  and  by  the  wolf  in  win 
ter.  The  others,  lying  beside  them,  crowded  with  palaces, 
villas,  and  gardens,  exhibit  the  difference  between  civiliza- 
tion and  barbarism,  hi  Nature.  Crossing  the  Troitska 
Bridge,  to  the  large  Aptekarskoi  Island,  we  pass  on  the 
right  the  first  church  built  hi  St.  Petersburg,  an  old 
wooden  structure,  with  green  domes,  such  as  may  be  seen 
in  many  a  country  village.  Even  before  leaving  this  island, 
the  city  proper  is  gradually  transformed  into  a  garden 
suburb,  with  scattered  houses  buried  in  foilage.  Following 
the  throng  of  carriages  and  droshkies,  we  cross  to  Kam- 
menoi  Island,  where  the  suburban  character  is  complete. 
Every  dwelling,  be  it  only  a  wooden  cottage  no  bigger 
than  a  tollman's  box,  sits  hi  a  nest  of  flowers  and  hides 
itself  under  a  covert  of  trees.  The  farther  north  you  go, 
the  greater  the  fondness  for  flowers.  In  the  Tropics,  gar- 
dens are  planted  for  shade,  but  here  for  the  bloom  and 
odor,  the  bright,  transient  coloring,  for  which  the  eye  hun- 
gers after  six  months  of  snow.  Nowhere  is  so  much  of 
summer  crowded  into  the  space  of  three  months. 

I  was  going  to  compare  the  roads  on  these  islands  to  the 
eastern  part  of  Euclid  street,  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  but  there 
the  dwellings  and  grounds  are  altogether  of  a  more  stately 
character.  The  Russian  villas — datchas,  they  are  called — 
are  built  of  wood,  generally  without  regard  to  architectural 
style,  but  quaint,  cozy,  irregular,  and  picturesque.  Now 
and  then  you  see  a  genuine  Swiss  farm-house,  with  project 


TZAESKO   SELO,    PAULOV8K    AND  TUB   ISLANDS.         405 

ing  eaves  and  balconies  of  carved  wood.  Some  of  the 
handsomest  residences  are  veritable  log-houses,  the  trunks 
of  equal  size,  overlapping  at  the  corners,  and  simply  barked 
and  painted.  There  could  be  no  finer  model  for  an  Ameri- 
can farm-house,  especially  in  the  West,  but  with  us  the 
taste  for  glaring  brick  predominates.  Some  traveller  has 
said  that  in  Russia  the  expressions  "red"  and  "  beautiful" 
are  synonymous.  The  same  thing  might  be  said  of  us.  I 
remember  one  house  between  Milwaukee  and  Rucine  which 
was  pure  vermilion,  and  resembled  a  red-hot  lime-kiln. 
Many  of  these  datchas,  also,  are  touched  up  with  red,  and 
have  summer  awnings  of  striped  canvass,  fashioned  like 
tents  or  pavilions,  over  the  entrance.  Before  every  win- 
dow there  is  a  shelf  studded  with  pots  of  exotic  flowers. 

At  the  end  of  Kammenoi  Island  is  a  Summer  theatre, 
where  French  vaudevilles  are  performed.  Beyond  is  Ye- 
laginskoi  Island,  whereon  the  Emperor  has  a  villa  and  gar- 
den, which  are  marvels  of  scrupulous  neatness  and  elegance. 
Through  every  break  in  the  embowering  woods  you  catch 
glimpses  of  the  clear  green  arms  of  the  Neva  on  either 
hand,  and,  as  if  this  mixture  of  land  and  water  were  not 
sufficiently  labyrinthine,  artificial  lakes  are  hollowed  in  the 
islands,  the  earth  being  employed  to  form  mounds  and 
ridges  beyond  their  uniform  level.  After  a  drive  of  five  or 
six  miles  through  these  enchanting  island-suburbs,  you 
reach  the  shore  of  the  Gulf,  on  Krestoffskoi,  and  may  watch 
the  sunset  moving  across  Finland,  until  it  becomes  morning 
over  Lake  Ladoga. 

If  you  would  see  all  this,  take  your  over-coat  with  you 
for,  although  the  thermometer  may  stand  all  day  at  90°  in 


406  TRAVELS    IN    POLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

the  shade,  with  evening  comes  a  fresh,  cold  air.  By  disre 
garding  the  custom  of  the  country  in  this  respect,  I  re 
ceived  a  beautiful  cold  in  the  head.  Until  midnight  the 
islands  are  alive  with  a  merry  multitude.  There  are 
pavilions  where  artificial  mineral  waters  are  drunk,  artificial 
Tyrolese  and  real  gipsies  sing,  and  the  national  dances  of 
Russia  are  danced :  smoking  is  permitted  in  the  open  air 
and  brandy,  qvass,  champagne  and  German  beer  are  sold 
The  little  steamers  running  to  the  Summer  Gardens  are 
laden  to  the  water's  edge,  and  it  is  morning  before  all  the 
pleasure-seekers  are  brought  home  again. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

VARIETIES     OF     THE     RUSSIAN     CAPITAL. 

BEFORE  leaving  Russia,  let  me  add  a  few  detached 
sketches  to  the  general  picture  which  I  have  endeavored 
to  give  the  reader,  of  St.  Petersburg  and  its  environs.  My 
description,  however,  will  be  far  from  exhaustive,  because 
I  purpos  )ly  refrained  from  making  my  visit  so.  I  hope  to 
see  Ru.v  a  again  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  less  hurriedly 
and  wi  ,'j  better  preparation. 

Tho  finest  building  in  Russia — in  all  Northern  Europe, 
ind'jp\l — is  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Izaak.  Commenced  in  the 
year  1826,  in  the  place  of  a  former  structure  erected  by 
Catharine  II.  and  Paul,  it  received  its  final  consecration  in 
June,  1858.  Thirty-two  years  of  uninterrupted  labor, 
backed  by  the  unlimited  resources  of  the  Empire,  were 
required  to  complete  this  gigantic  work.  Its  cost  is  esti- 
mated at  90,000,000  rubles,  or  $67,500,000,  but  a  large 
slice  out  of  this  sum  (as  in  our  own  Government  contracts) 
may  be  put  under  the  head  of  "  pickings  and  stealings." 
To  make  a  firm  foundation  in  the  swampy  soil,  piles  to  the 


408  TEAVELS   IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

value  of  a  million  of  dollars  were  driven.  Upon  them  rose 
a  basement  of  granite,  supporting  a  mighty  granite  struc- 
ture, in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross,  crowned  by  a  huge 
dome  of  gilded  iron.  The  design  is  simple  and  majestic, 
and  the  various  parts  are  so  nicely  balanced  and  harmonized 
that  at  first  sight  the  Cathedral  appears  smaller  than  is 
really  the  case.  It  grows  upon  the  eye  with  each  visit,  but 
can  only  be  seen  in  its  full  magnitude  at  a  considerable 
distance. 

The  four  sides  are  fronts  of  exactly  similar  design  and 
dimensions — a  Grecian  pediment,  resting  on  sixteen  mono- 
lith columns  of  red  Finnish  granite,  sixty  feet  in  height 
and  seven  feet  in  diameter,  with  Corinthian  capitals  in 
bronze.  These  tremendous  shafts  emulate  the  marvels  of 
Dendera  and  Karnak.  In  fact,  the  great  hall  of  columns  in 
the  latter  temple  does  not  represent  as  much  art,  labor  and 
wealth.  The  dome,  which  is  a  little  less  than  that  of  St. 
Paul's,  in  London,  rests  upon  a  circular  colonnade  of  similar 
monoliths,  of  smaller  dimensions.  The  body  of  the  edifice 
is  of  gray  granite,  and  upon  each  of  the  four  corners  are 
groups  of  kneeling  angels,  with  candelabra,  in  bronze. 
Crowning  this  sublime  pile  is  the  golden  hemisphere  of  the 
dome,  which  so  flashes  in  the  sunlight  that  the  eye  can 
scarcely  bear  its  splendor.  Far  out  on  the  Gulf  of  Finland, 
it  glitters  over  the  evening  horizon  like  a  rising  star. 

The  interior  is  divided  into  five  vaulted  halls,  the  central 
*ne,  under  the  dome,  soaring  to  a  height  of  292  feet.  The 
massive  piers  which  support  thorn,  the  walls,  th  t  ceiling, 
and  the  recesses  for  "brines,  are  lined  with  the  most  pre- 
cious marbles,  whose  exquisite  beauty  of  coloring  reconcile* 


VARIETIES   OF  THE   RUSSIAN   CAPITAL.  409 

the  sye  to  their  somewhat  ostentatious  magnificence. 
Tht  richest  and  loveliest  tints  are  here  combined — 
pink,  lilac,  pale-green,  purple,  dark-blue,  brown,  orange, 
and  violet — and  with  so  much  skill  that  the  lavish  display 
of  gold  loses  half  its  disagreeable  glare.  The  ikonottast, 
or  screen  before  the  Holy  of  Holies,  is  a  giant  wall  of 
wealth.  Eight  pillars  of  malachite,  fifty  feet  high,  bear 
aloft  its  golden  cornice  and  divide  its  surface  of  gilded 
silver  into  compartments,  whereon  are  painted  the  favorite 
saints  of  Russia.  The  altar  canopy  is  supported  by  two 
pillars  of  lapiz-lazuli,  bluer  than  the  ice  of  Polar  seas.  But 
wealth,  uncombined  with  taste,  can  only  impress  a  vulgar 
mind :  you  are  overwhelmed  by  the  glare,  not  touched  by 
the  beauty.  Aladdin's  Palace  may  be  built  of  clay,  when 
the  genie  is  Ictinus  or  Palladio. 

Across  the  Neva,  on  the  eastern  point  of  Vassili  Ostrov, 
are  two  immense  plastered  buildings — the  Academy  of  Arts 
and  the  Academy  of  Sciences.  Before  visiting  them,  how- 
ever, let  us  pause  a  moment  before  Falconet's  famous  statue 
of  Peter  the  Great.  After  having  seen  Clark  Mills's  statue 
of  Gen.  Jackson  rearing  on  his  hind .  legs,  which  our  en- 
lightened legislators  have  pronounced  to  be  the  greates 
thing  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  I  had  very  limited  expecta- 
tions of  Peter,  seeing  that  the  latter  does  not  rear  so  high, 
and  that  his  horse's  tail  touches  the  ground — which  is  a 
great  fault,  according  to  the  aforesaid  judges  of  Art 
WTien  I  found,  however,  that  Peter  sits  his  horse  like  a 
man,  and  not  like  a  wooden  effigy,  and  that  the  horse  is 
arrested  in  a  position  which  he  can  maintain  for  an  instant 
without  tumbling  backward,  I  decided  that  I  had  been  a 


*10  TRAVELS   IN    POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

little  too  hasty  in  forming  my  conclusions.  The  long  tat 
of  the  horse,  and  the  writhing  serpent  upon  which  he 
tramples,  are  obviously  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  main- 
taining the  equilibrium  of  the  figure,  which  is  thus  secured 
without  too  great  exaggeration.  Gen.  Jackson,  on  the 
other  hand,  disdains  any  such  aid.  Having  borrowed  one 
of  Franconi's  horses,  trained  to  walk  on  its  hind  legs,  he 
needs  neither  serpent  nor  long  tail.  And  yet,  I  fear,  Peter 
will  be  pronounced  the  better  rider  by  every  impartial 
judge. 

The  Academy  of  Sciences  is  only  open  to  the  public  on 
Mondays.  Not  being  aware  of  this,  I  timed  my  visit  so 
unfortunately  that  I  was  not  able  to  see  its  interesting 
zoological  collections,  which  contain,  among  other  things, 
tLe  remains  of  the  Siberian  mammoth,  found  imbedded  in 
the  ice  of  the  Lena.  In  the  zoological  cabinet  at  Moscow 
there  is  also  the  entire  skeleton  of  a  mastodon,  but  of  rather 
smaller  si/.e  than  that  which  was  formerly  in  Peale's  .Museum, 
in  Philadelphia.  The  Russian  Academy  of  Sciences  is  a 
Government  institution,  and  is  intrusted  with  the  organiza- 
tion and  superintendence  of  all  geological,  topographical, 
and  astronomical  undertakings.  Its  President  is  Count 
Bludoff,  to  whom  I  had  a  letter  of  introduction,  but,  as  he 
<vas  absent  on  his  travels,  I  was  not  so  fortunate  as  to  make 
his  acquaintance. 

The  Academy  of  Arts  has  accomplished  but  little,  as  yet. 
Russia  has  furnished  some  good  sculptors,  but  no  painter 
who  could  fairly  be  admitted  to  a  first  place.  Even  Brfl- 
lof£y  who  is  generally  reckoned  the  greatest,  and  who  really 
was  an  artist  of  no  ordinary  power,  appears  meretricious 


YARLETUES    OK   THE    RUSSIAN    CAPITAL.  «41l 

beside  the  grand  old  masters.     In  the  gallery  of  Russiar 
paintings  in  the  Hermitage,  I  was  particularly  struck  b} 
the  crude,  exaggerated  manner  of  the  various  artists — a  dis 
tinction   which   applied  to  landscapes  as  well   as   figures. 
Fhere  was  a  gale  on  the  Black  Sea,  which  was  one  mass  of 
raw  pink  and  pea-green.     Some  Circassian  landscapes,  how 
ever,  were  very  finely  and  boldly  drawn,  though  still  deti 
cient  in  the  main  charm  of  color.     No  people  are  proude: 
of  their  great  men  than  the  Kussians,  and  in  no  other  coun- 
try, probably,  would  a  truly   great   artist    receive   more 
generous  support — but  Academies  alone  are  not  sufficient 
to  create  artists.     On  the  contrary,  they  rather  hinder  that 
free,  spontaneous  development  and  growth  which  all  Art 
demands,  and  without  which  it  will  never  produce   any- 
thing great  and  permanent. 

Toward  the  western  end  of  Vas<ili  Ostrov  stands*  another 
institution,  which  is  unquestionably  the  most  perfect  of  its 
kind  in  the  world — the  School  of  Mines.  It  was  originally 
founded  by  Peter  the  Great,  for  the  purpose  of  training* a 
corps  of  mining  engineers,  and  with  the  gradual  develop- 
ment of  the  mineral  resources  of  Russia,  its  importance  and 
efficiency  can  now  scarcely  be  over-estimated.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  the  immense  building  is  devoted  to  collec- 
tions of  minerals,  models  of  all  kinds  of  machinery  used  in 
mining,  and  fac-similes  of  all  the  principal  mines,  with  their 
shafts,  galleries,  and  veins  of  ore,  constructed  with  the  most 
wonderful  labor  ami  skill.  The  minerals  form  a  dazzling 
gallery  of  crude  wealth.  There  is  the  famous  nugget  of  the 
Ural — an  80  Ib.  lump  of  pure  gold:  a  mass  of  malachite, 
weighing  4,00(1  lli-.:  a  single  perfect  beryl,  weighing  -ix 


t!2  TRAVELS    IN    POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

pounds,  and  valued  at  $30,000;  crusted  sheets  of  deij. 
violet  amethysts ;  huge  blocks  of  jasper,  of  all  imaginable 
lines;  slabs  of  precious  marble,  and  boulders  of  granite  and 
porphyry,  together  with  ores  of  platina,  silver,  copper, 
and  iron — bright  and  beautiiul  spirits,  waiting  for  the  touch 
of  fire  to  be  released  from  their  dusky  prisons.  The  speci 
mens  are  of  the  rarest  and  most  costly  character,  filling 
several  large  halls. 

After  we  had  inspected  the  models  of  machines,  build- 
ings, and  mines,  an  old  soldier  conducted  us  into  the  cellar, 
gave  us  each  a  long  wax  candle,  and  unlocked  a  heavy 
iron  door.  We  entered,  and  the  hinges  closed  behind  ua 
As  if  by  magic  we  stood  in  the  bowels  of  a  coal  mine — in 
a  winding,  narrow  shaft,  traversed  by  strata  of  clay,  coal, 
and  crumbling  slate-rock.  All  the  various  dips,  positions, 
and  characters  of  coal-beds  are  here  displayed  in  turn.  A 
labyrinth  of  mines  succeeded — silver,  lead,  copper,  gold, 
and  iron,  imitated  with  astonishing  fidelity  to  nature.  The 
dampness  of  the  soil,  which  filled  the  passages  with  a  raw, 
chill  air,  completed  the  resemblance.  At  intervals,  shafts 
from  above  (of  very  trifling  depth,  naturally)  penetrated 
this  subterranean  region,  and  illustrated  the  various  means 
of  communication  with  the  surface.  In  fact,  the  School 
of  Mines,  from  beginning  to  end,  is  one  of  the  most 
thoroughly  sensible  and  practical  institutions  I  have  ever 
seen. 

On   the   Aptekarskoi   Island,  just   above  the  Troitzka 
Bridge,  is  the  cottage  of  Peter  the  Great — his  first  resi 
deuce  in  the  young  capital.     It  is  built  of  logs,  and  con 
tains  only  three  small  rooms.     In  order  the  more  effectu 


VARIETIES  OK  THE  RUSSIAN  CAPITAL.  413 

ally  to  preserve  it,  a  brick  house  has  been  built  around  and 
over  it,  and  the  rude  old  hut  has  thus  become  a  sort  of 
shrine,  whither  the  devout  Russians  flock  in  crowds.  Th* 
main  room  is  in  fact  a  religious  sanctuary,  hung  with  hob 
pictures,  and  hot  with  the  flames  of  a  dozen  wax  candles 
At  the  time  of  my  visit  it  was  tilled  with  a  crowd  of  com 
mon  people,  bowing  and  crossing  themselves,  muttering 
prayers  and  lighting  tapers,  in  an  atmosphere  so  unctuous 
and  stifling  that  I  was  obliged  to  retire  immediately.  The 
custode,  who  was  evidently  a  married  man,  unlocked  the 
inner  rooms  at  the  sight  of  a  silver  piece,  and  showed  me 
the  rough  table  and  stools,  made  by  Peter's  own  hand,  as 
well  as  the  tattered  sail  which  belonged  to  his  boat.  At 
one  end  of  the  house  is  the  boat  itself,  a  light,  trim,  sharp 
craft  about  fifteen  feet  long,  which  Braisted,  after  carefully 
inspecting  with  a  seaman's  eye,  pronounced  "  well  done !" 
It  would  be  well  if  all  apprentices  nowadays  learned  their 
trades  as  well  as  Master  Peter  of  Saardam.  It  is  curious 
to  find,  however,  that  the  man  who  first  broke  the  power 
of  the  Russian  priesthood,  and  forcibly  uprooted  so  many 
old  customs  and  superstitions,  should  now,  although  un- 
canonized,  receive  the  honors  due  to  a  saint. 

I  will  not  ask  the  reader  to  accompany  me  to  the  Cathe- 
dral of  our  Lady  of  Kazan,  or  to  the  IVenbrajensky.  Sinol- 
noi,  and  St.  Alexander  Xevsky  churches.  They  are  all 
quite  modern  in  eliararter,  with  the  exception  of  the  Tar- 
laresque.  bespangled  spires  on  the  three  latter.  The  last 
named  contains  the  tomb  of  SU\V;UTO\V.  and  the  body  of 
the  saint  to  whom  it  is  dedicated,  in  a  colmi  of  massive  sil- 
ver, weighing  five  thousand  pounds.  This  relic  was  for 


414  TUAVE1.S   IN    POLAND    AND   KDSSIA. 

merly  preserved  in  a  monastery  on  the  banks  of  the  Volga. 
whence  Peter  the  Great  transferred  it  to  the  capital.  Very 
soon  afterwards  the  saint  disappeared,  and  was  found  again 
in  his  old  place,  being  dissatisfied  (so  said  the  monks)  witL 
his  removal.  Nevertheless,  Peter  had  him  brought  back  a 
second  time,  and  threatened  the  monks  with  the  severest 
penalties  if  they  allowed  him  to  escape.  It  is  netdless  to 
add  that  the  saint  kept  perfectly  quiet  after  that.  At 
Naples,  during  the  French  occupation,  the  blood  of  St. 
Januarius  was  once  made  to  liquefy  in  the  same  arbitrary 
manner. 

Behind  the  Gostinnoi  Dvor  is  a  curious  market,  known 
through  Petersburg  as  the  Apraxin  Rinok,  or  "  Louse 
Exchange,"  from  the  questionable  cleanliness  of  its  booths, 
occupants,  and  customers.  But  let  not  the  stranger  be  de- 
terred from  entering  by  the  natural  hesitation  which  the 
name  inspires.  It  is  a  second-hand  market,  or  bazaar,  simi- 
lar to  those  in  Moscow,  but  of  much  greater  extent,  con- 
taining upwards  of  five  thousand  booths.  A  few  pare* 
after  leaving  the  noisy  Garden  street,  you  are  in  the  midst 
of  a  queer,  shabby,  ruinous-looking  town,  where  the  silence 
is  broken  only  by  such  cries  as :  "  What  would  please  yon, 
my  lord?"  "Here  are  excellent  mattresses!"  "  A  very 
cheap  carriage!"  "Pictures!  Behold  the  beautiful  St. 
Nicholas!"  "Iron  wheel-tires — here  they  are!"  "Here 
are  the  swords!"  "  Brass  kettles — please  to  step  in !"  etc. 
The  wares  are  arranged  in  separate  streets,  but  without 
regard  to  their  fitness  or  resemblance,  and  everybody  offers 
you  what  he  has,  though  it  might  be  something  which  you 
never  buy.  We  were  simply  curious  strangers,  as  any  onf 


VAKIETIES    OF   THE   RUSSIAN    CAPITAI,.  415 

oonld  see;  yet  we  were  pressingly  solicited  to  buy  old 
bedding,  leather,  rusty  iron,  household  furniture,  sleds,  salt 
fish,  shrines,  crosses,  and  pictures,  to  say  nothing  of  shabby 
greasy  caftans,  and  damaged  hats,  which  could  not  even  be 
touched  without  a  heroic  effort.  To  judge  from  the  great 
extent  and  multifarious  character  of  the  various  bazaars, 
'.he  Russians  must  be  a  people  passionately  fond  of  shop- 
ping. Several  rows  of  booths  in  the  Louse  Exchange  are 
devoted  to  cheap  refreshments,  principally  tea,  qvass,  fish 
boiled  in  oil,  black  bread  and  raw  cucumbers.  Others 
again  are  filled  with  every  variety  of  dried  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, and  these  are  decidedly  the  most  agreeable  districts. 

The  fruit  shops  in  the  Xevisko  Prospekt  are  an  agreeable 
surprise  to  the  stranger.  Passing  before  the  windows,  you 
;ire  saluted  by  the  musky  odor  of  golden  melons,  the 
breath  of  peaches,  plums,  grapes,  oranges,  and  fresh  figs, 
which  are  here  displayed  in  as  much  profusion  as  if  they 
were  the  ordinary  growths  of  the  soil.  The  fruit  is  all 
raised  in  hot-houses,  and  I  did  not  venture  to  ask  the  price. 
This  is  one  of  those  luxuries  which  are  most  easily  excused. 

The  Botanical  Garden,  in  which  I  spent  an  afternoon, 
contains  one  of  the  finest  collections  of  tropical  plants  in 
Europe.  Here,  in  lat.  60°,  you  may  walk  through  an 
avenue  of  palm  trees  sixty  feet  high,  under  tree  ferns  and 
bananas,  by  ponds  of  lotus  and  Indian  lily,  and  banks  of 
gplenuid  orchids,  breathing  an  air  heavy  with  the  richest 
and  warmest  odors.  The  extent  of  these  giant  hot-houses 
jannot  be  less  than  a  mile  and  a  half.  The  short  summer, 
and  long  dark  winter  of  the  north  requires  a  peculiar 
aourse  of  treatment  for  those  cliildren  of  the  sun.  During 


416  TRAVELS    IN   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA 

the  three  warm  months  they  are  forced  as  much  as  possible, 
so  that  the  growth  of  six  months  is  obtained  iu  that  time, 
and  the  productive  forces  of  the  plant  are  kept  up  to  their 
normal  standard.  After  this  result  is  obtained,  it  thrivei 
as  steadily  as  in  a  more  favorable  climate.  The  palms,  in 
particular,  are  noble  specimens.  One  of  them  (a  phoenix^ 
I  believe)  was  in  blossom,  which  is  an  unheard  of  event  Ln 
inch  a  latitude. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

IOUBNEY     THROUGH     THE     BALTIC     PROVINCES. 

THE  steamers  from  Cronstadt  to  Stettin  and  Lubeck  were 
crowded  with  Russian  families,  bound  abroad,  and  all  places 
were  taken  weeks  beforehand.  I  therefore  shortened  my 
stay  by  a  few  days,  and  took  seats  in  the  Government  dili 
gence  to  the  Prussian  frontier,  via  Narva  and  Riga.  A 
special  passport  for  leaving  Russia  is  necessary,  and  the  old 
formality  of  having  your  name  published  three  times  in  the 
newspapers  is  still  adhered  to.  We  duly  appealed  in  the 
list  of  departing  travellers,  with  names  slightly  misspelled 
and  the  designation  of  "American  subjects,"  aftor  which, 
furnished  with  a  stamped  certificate  to  the  effect  that  no 
jreditors  had  appeared  against  us,  we  repaired  to  the  Pass- 
port Office.  The  formalities  were  long  and  somewhat  tedi 
ous,  but  the  officials,  most  of  whom  spoke  three  or  four 
languages,  were  exceedingly  courteous  and  gentlemanly, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  we  were  put  en  regie.  No 
"  tea-money"  was  here  demanded  ;  the  legal  fees,  however, 
were  high  enough,  amounting,  in  all,  to  about  ten  rublea 


418  TRAVELS   IN    POLAND   AND    RUSSIA. 

After  receiving  the  passport,  one  is  allowed  to  remain  three 
tveeks,  so  that  the  public:. tion  of  the  name  for  the  benefit 
of  creditors  is  of  no  practical  use. 

The  passport  system  of  Russia  has  hitherto  been  fai 
more  onerous  to  the  subjects  of  the  Empire  than  to 
foreigners.  Under  the  reign  of  Nicholas,  the  minimum 
cost  of  a  permission  to  travel  abroad  was  fifty  rubles,  and 
was  even  then  arbitrarily  withheld  in  many  instances. 
Nobles  and  gentlemen  of  fortune  were  obliged  to  pay  pro 
portionately  more.  I  met  a  Russian  in  Germany  in  1845. 
\vl.o  had  paid  five  hundred  rubles  for  one  year's  leave,  and 
Prince  Demidoff,  it  is  stated  was  taxed  no  less  than  fifty 
thousand  rubles  annually.  Although  Nicholas  himself  tra- 
velled a  great  deal,  he  appears  to  have  desired  exclusion  for 
liis  subjects,  fearing  the  influence  of  new  habits  and  ideas 
upon  them.  Alexander,  on  the  other  hand,  trusts  the  deep- 
rooted  national  feeling  of  the  Russians,  and  not  only  per- 
mits,  without  reserve,  but  encourages  travel.  A  passport 
now  costs  five  rubles,  for  burgher  or  noble,  while  a  merchant, 
travelling  for  the  sake  of  his  business,  pays  but  one.  As  a 
consequence  there  was  in  the  summer  of  1858,  a  general 
stampede  to  France,  Germany,  and  Italy,  and  of  all  the 
gentlemen  whom  I  hoped  to  meet,  not  one  was  at  home. 

The  distance  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Tauroggen,  on  the 
Prussian  frontier,  is  seven  hundred  and  eighty  versts,  or 
about  five  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  The  slow  post 
which  we  took,  is  four  days  and  nights  in  traversing  it, 
including  long  delays  at  the  principal  stations.  We  took 
our  seats  at  six  o'clock,  on  a  hot  summer  evening,  the  sun 
still  three  hours  distance  above  the  horizon.  My  com 


JOURNEY    THROUGH    THE    BALTIC    PROVINCES.  419 

panion  on  tho  inside  was  a  young  French  merchant  from 
Moscow,  a  fellow  of  twenty-four,  pale,  hollow-eyed,  knock- 
kneed,  and  already  showing  signs  of  baldness.  It  is  not 
pleasant  to  have  a  body  prematurely  broken  down  by  liceu 
tiousness  so  close  to  one  ;  but  travellers  cannot  alway 
choose  their  coach  or  bed-fellows.  On  applying  the  usual 
tests  to  the  Frenchman's  mind,  in  order  to  discover  whether 
there  were  any  sparks  remaining  in  such  a  heap  of  ashes,  I 
was  not  rewarded  by  any  appreciable  result.  He  venera- 
ted Louis  Napoleon,  and  declared  that  to  him  alone  was 
Jue  the  abolition  of  serfdom  in  Russia,  he  having  secretly 
driven  Alexander  II.  to  adopt  the  measure.  His  statements 
on  the  commonest  subjects  concerning  Russia  were  so  wide 
of  the  mark  that  I  soon  dropped  him  in  despair.  Besides, 
he  had  a  disagreeable  habit  of  naming  every  other  place 
than  Moscow  "  down  there."  (Ld  bos.)  Berlin,  Paris, 
Constantinople,  America,  St.  Petersburg — all  were  "  down 
there."  "Where?"  I  would  ask,  impatiently.  "Why, 
down  there."  Twenty-four  hours  of  this  conversation  was 
a  surfeit,  so  I  gradually  withdrew  into  my  shell,  and  before 
the  journey's  end  we  only  spoke  every  three  hours. 

Braisted  had  a  little  better  luck.  His  comrade  in  the 
coupe  (the  diligence  only  carries  four  persons)  was  a 
wealthy  Russian,  laboring  under  a  violent  attack  of  dyspep- 
sia, which  he  endeavored  to  cure  by  drinking  tea  and  eating 
immense  quantities  of  sour  milk.  He  was  a  hypochondriac 
on  the  subject  of  his  stomach.  He  ate  as  much  as  the 
remaining  three  of  us,  and  was  continually  lamenting  his 
loss  of  appetite.  There  was  a  time,  he  said,  when  he  had 
consumed  an  entire  roast  turkey  at  one  meal,  but  no\v  meat 


420  TRAVELS   IN    POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

was  fatal  to  him.  Nevertheless  at  the  next  station,  wher« 
a  large  dish  of  cutlets  was  placed  before  us,  he  set  to  with 
the  determination  of  a  suicide,  and,  ate  enough  (according 
to  his  theory)  to  have  caused  his  death.  He  frankly  con- 
fessed that  he  had  spent  a  large  fortune  in  his  youngei 
days,  and  only  took  up  business  when  he  was  driven  to  it, 
but  he  had  since  then  prospered  exceedingly.  He  was, 
withal,  a  man  of  much  experience  and  intelligence,  and  the 
more  we  saw  of  him  the  more  reason  we  found  to  like  him. 
The  story  of  his  life,  which,  even  in  its  most  private  aspects, 
he  confided  to  me,  had  a  deeper  interest  than  was  evident 
on  the  surface.  He  illustrated,  without  knowing  it,  more 
than  one  of  the  many  puzzles  which  belong  to  his  race  and 
BOX.  It  is  a  fact,  the  importance  of  which  can  never  be 
diminished,  that  the  full  and  true  history  of  one  man's  life 
is  worth  all  the  books  that  ever  were  written  about  Human 
Nature. 

For  the  first  three  hours  after  leaving  the  capital  we  fol 
lowed  the  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  toward  Peterhof, 
passing  a  series  of  the  most  charming  parks  and  villas,  the 
the  summer  residences  of  the  wealthy  St.  Peterburgers.  A 
long  ridge  of  gently  rolling  ground,  studded  with  groves 
of  birch  and  fir,  offers  natural  advantages  which  the  latU 
have  not  lost  sight  of.  The  dwellings  are  mostly  of  wood, 
not  distinguished  for  their  architecture,  but  look  comforta- 
ble and  homelike,  and  the  grounds  are  almost  universally 
laid  out  in  the  English  style,  with  sloping  lawns  of  the 
freshest,  turf,  trees  of  unpruned  growth,  winding  walks,  and 
gay  flower-beds  of  a  single  hue.  For  fifteen  miles  this  fairy 
diorama  of  summer  palaces  passed  by  on  our  left,  while  on 


JOURNEY   THROUGH   THE   BALTIC   PROVINCES.  421 

jhe  right  the  Gulf  expanded  broad  and  blue,  from  the 
shining  domes  of  the  city  to  the  dim,  wave-washed  fortressei 
of  Cronstadt.  At  Strelna  we  left  the  coast,  and  struck 
Inland  over  the  low  Esthonian  plateau  toward  Narva.  The 
post-stations  on  this  old  route  were  not  to  be  compared  to 
those  on  the  new  highway  between  Warsaw  and  Moscow, 
but  they  furnished  everything  we  needed,  and  the  landlords 
all  spoke  German  better  than  Russian. 

The  sun  set  precisely  at  nine  o'clock,  but  we  slept 
through  the  splendid  twilight,  each  jammed  into  his  parti- 
cular corner,  until  long  after  sunrise.  At  Jamburg,  a  con- 
siderable town  on  the  river  Luga,  we  took  advantage  of  a 
half-hour's  halt,  to  bathe.  We  were  in  the  middle  of  the 
stream  when  the  diligence  passed.  The  conductor,  how- 
ever, was  obliging  enough  to  wait  on  the  opposite  bank, 
and  apologized  for  leaving  us,  by  stating  that  he  did  not 
recognise  us  without  our  clothes.  He  is  not  the  only  man 
who  looks  at  the  coat  instead  of  the  face.  Two  hours 
more  brought  us  to  Narva,  the  little  town  whose  name 
rings  so  grandly  in  Swedish  history  and  song.  On  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  river  Narova  stands  the  village  and 
fortress  of  Ivangorod,  built  by  Peter  to  secure  the  favorite 
turn  in  his  fortunes,  five  years  after  his  overthrow  on  the 
same  spot.  With  such  a  beginning  as  this  unparalleled 
victory,  what  might  not  Charles  XII.  have  become,  had  he 
inherited  the  prudence  as  well  as  the  military  genius  of 
Gustavus  Adolphus?  A  boy  of  seventeen,  at  the  head  of 
8,000  men,  utterly  routing  an  army  of  50,000  !  When  one 
•ees  the  sloping  bank  of  the  Narova,  on  the  top  of  which 
the  Russians  were  intrenched,  and  pictures  to  himself  th« 


422  TEAVELS   IN   POLAND   AND    BUSSIA. 

charge  of  that  little  band  of  Swedes  as  they  swept  up  the 
hill  in  a  blinding  storm  of  snow  and  sleet,  crying  "  Ui 
v&gen.)  Moskoviter /"  (Out  of  the  way,  Muscovites!)  he 
cannot  but  acknowledge  that  there  are  few  events  in  his 
lory  so  stirring  and  sublime. 

Narva  is  an  insignificant  little  place  of  5,000  inhabitants 
still  wholly  Swedish  in  appearance.  It  is  beginning  to  rise 
in  importance,  however,  through  its  cotton  factories.  The 
Narova  furnishes  a  splendid  water-power,  of  which  Baron 
Stieglitz  has  taken  advantage,  and  in  addition  to  the  large 
mills  which  have  been  in  operation  for  a  few  years  past,  is 
now  building  a  new  one  to  contain  150,000  spindles. 
Owing  to  the  judicious  protective  policy  of  Russia,  hei 
manufactures  of  all  kinds  are  rapidly  increasing,  and  the 
cotton-mills  are  already  so  numerous  as  to  sustain  a  direct 
trade  with  the  United  States.  The  number  of  American 
vessels  in  Russian  ports  last  summer  was  probably  four 
times  what  it  was  five  years  ago.  At  Narva  the  people 
told  us  with  great  exultation  that  an  American  ship, 
freighted  with  cotton  bales,  lay  in  the  outer  harbor — the 
first  which  had  ever  been  seen  there. 

Through  the  hot,  breathless  middle  hours  of  the  day  we 
traversed  the  shore  of  the  Gulf,  looking  over  the  long 
undulating  fields  of  ripening  rye  upon  its  blue  surface.  Iii 
the  afternoon  we  left  the  direct  road  to  Revel  and  struck 
southward  over  the  cold,  bare  Esthoniau  plains  toward 
Lake  Peipus.  From  the  higher  ridges  the  eye  saw  only 
interminable  forests  of  fir,  and  even  in  the  nollows  where 
broad  tracts  of  cultivated  land  intervened,  the  character  of 
the  coiiUvry  was  poor  ami  cheerless.  The  post -station? 


JOURNEY  THROUGH  1HE  BALTIC  PROVINCES.     423 

were  poverty-stricken  places,  where  we  could  only  obtain  a 
little  beer,  bread,  and  cheese,  and  the  night  (or  rather  the 
nocturnal  twilight)  was  the  more  welcome,  since  sleep  was 
no  loss.  By  the  next  morning  we  had  entered  Livonia  and 
were  descending  toward  Dorpat  from  the  ridges  above 
Lake  Peipus,  through  a  fertile  and  well-settled  country 
Splendid  fields  of  rye,  which  appeared  to  be  almost  the 
only  grain  cultivated,  lined  the  road,  gleaming  with  change- 
able yellow  and  silver  tints  between  the  dark  masses  of  the 
evergreen  woods.  Comfortable  farm-houses  and  well-built 
villages  dotted  the  landscape,  which  basked  in  the  full  glare 
of  midsummer. 

In  Dorpat  we  had  but  an  hour,  the  greater  part  of  which 
was  devoted  to  breakfast,  so  that  we  only  saw  the  outside 
of  the  town.  It  is  a  very  neat,  cheerful  place  of  about 
15,000  inhabitants,  picturesquely  built  over  low  hills,  and 
divided  by  a  river.  On  the  old  Domberg,  crowned  with 
trees,  stand  the  Cathedral  and  the  Observatory.  The  Uni- 
versity is  one  of  the  first  in  Russia,  but  is  attended  princi- 
pally by  students  from  the  Baltic  provinces.  That  part  of 
Livonia  lying  between  Dorpat  and  the  Dwina,  embracing 
the  valley  of  the  river  Aa,  is  said  to  be  a  very  attractive 
region,  rich  in  natural  beauties  and  pictorial  reminiscences, 
It  is  called  the  Livonian  Switzerland,  although  none  of  its 
hills  rise  more  than  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  sea-level. 
But  such  hills  are  Andes  to  those  who  have  never  seen  any. 
tiling  but  plains. 

We  were  about  thirty  hours  on  the  road  from  Dorpat  to 
Riga.  The  country  reminded  me  very  much  of  that  part 
»f  Sweden  which  lies  opposite  Livonia — long  rolling  up 


424  TRAVELS    IX   POLAND   AND   RUSSIA. 

lands,  belted  with  fir-woods,  and  warm,  winding  valleys 
threaded  by  swift,  cold  streams.  The  Aa,  which  we  fol- 
lowed for  a  few  stages,  flows  through  a  charming  pastoral 
region,  full  of  lovely  and  tranquil  pictures.  The  Livoniana 
are  very  much  attached  to  their  homes,  an  attachment 
^hich  arises  from  their  quiet  domestic  life  and  the  com 
parative  isolation  of  the  province.  There  are  many  feudal 
ruins  among  these  valleys,  each  of  which  has  its  traditions 
of  siege  and  battle,  love,  and  revenge.  The  chief  interest 
however,  will  be  found  in  the  people,  who,  allied  in  many 
respects  to  the  Germans,  Swedes,  and  Russians,  have  yet 
characteristics  quite  peculiar  to  themselves. 

We  drove  into  Riga  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  thunder- 
shower,  on  the  third  afternoon  after  leaving  St.  Petersburg. 
The  guide-book  says  there  are  many  interesting  things  to 
be  seen  here — such  as  the  Peter's  Church,  the  Rathhaus, 
and  other  old  buildings  dating  from  the  Hanseatic  times — 
but  we  had  no  opportunity  of  visiting  them.  The  city  is 
now  being  greatly  improved  by  the  levelling  of  its  massive 
walls.  As  the  main  outlet  for  the  produce  of  Lithuania, 
Courland,  Livonia,  and  a  large  portion  of  Poland,  it  has 
always  enjoyed  a  very  considerable  trade,  which  will  be 
largely  increased  in  two  years  by  the  construction  of  the 
railroad  to  Dttnaburg.  We  were  gratified  to  see  the 
American  flag  among  the  shipping. 

We  crossed  the  Dwina  by  a  floating  bridge  a  mile  iu 
length,  and  after  a  journey  of  three  hours  over  a  sandy 
plain,  reached  Mittau,  the  ancient  capital  of  Courland. 
The  grand  castle  built  by  Biron,  the  last  Duke  of  Courland, 
looms  over  the  quiet  little  lown  with  an  air  of  ostentation* 


JOURNEY  THROUGH  THE  BALTIC  PROVINCES.     425 

mockery.  The  Courland  nobles,  though  decayed  and 
tailen,  as  compared  with  their  former  state,  are  said  to  be 
still  a  proud,  chivalric,  hospitable  race.  The  branches  oi 
their  family  trees  stretch  through  both  Europe  and  A  me 
rica. 

That  night  and  all  next  day  we  journeyed  over  th« 
monotonous,  sandy  swells  of  Lithuania — a  dreary  region  of 
dark  forests,  scanty  fields  of  'flax  and  rye,  dirty  villages 
swarming  with  Jews  and  a  population  of  Slavic  type,  who 
spoke  only  the  unintelligible  Lettish,  with  a  few  words  of 
German.  We  had  been  four  days  and  nights  in  the  dili- 
gence and  were  beginning  to  feel  fatigued.  The  Russian 
expei'ienced  still  more  violent  attacks  of  dyspepsia  and  was 
unable  to  procure  enough  sour  milk ;  the  knock-kneed 
Frenchman  ceased  to  make  remarks  about  the  people 
"  down  there,"  and  stupidly  dozed  all  day  in  his  corner. 
We  had,  besides,  a  fifth  passenger  from  Dorpat,  who  had 
bought  the  conductor's  seat — an  old  fellow,  whose  gray, 
greasy  beard,  long  shaggy  surtout,  and  whining  voice 
stamped  him  as  a  Jew  in  the  minds  of  all  of  us.  We  were 
not  a  little  surprised  therefore,  on  parting  with  him  in  ai» 
obscure  little  village  in  Lithuania,  to  find  that  he  belonged 
to  a  distinguished  Swedish  family  of  Esthonia. 

In  just  ninety-six  hours  alter  leaving  St.  Petersburg,  we 
entered  Tauroggen,  the  last  Russian  station.  Escaping 
from  the  hands  of  Jews  who  changed  our  remaining  paper 
money  at  a  ruinous  rate,  we  took  a  fresh  coach  to  Laugsar- 
gen,  the  first  Prussian  station,  about  seven  versts  distant 
Two  stone  pillars,  a  bar  across  the  road  and  a  Cossack 
guard  marked  the  frontier.  When  the  bar  had  been  lifted 


i26  TRAVELS   IN    POLAND    VXD    RUSSIA. 

and  again  let  do\vn  behind  us,  we  were  outside  of  Ruesii 
and  in  a  land  whose  people  and  language  were  most  familiar 
and  most  welcome,  after  those  of  our  own.  The  Prussian 
officials  greeted  us  like  old  friends ;  the  neat,  comfortable 
dwellings,  with  their  gardens  and  leafy  arbors,  were  a 
dalightful  and  unexpected  sight,  after  the  bare,  foiiori: 
houses  of  Tauroggen,  and  all  that  was  difficult  or  fatiguing 
in  our  summer  trip  was  over. 

We  went  on  to  Tilsit  on  the  Niemen,  by  extra  post  the 
same  night,  caught  three  hours'  sleep,  and  then  took  a 
fresh  start  for  Konigsberg,  which  we  reached  in  five  days 
from  St.  Petersburg.  The  journey  is  not  very  fatiguing, 
and  though  so  rapid,  enables  one  to  see  the  outside,  at 
least,  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Baltic  provinces.  Hence,  1 
would  recommend  the  curious  traveller  to  choose  this  route, 
rather  than  take  the  steamer  direct  from  Stettin  to  Cron 
stadt.  From  Konigsberg  it  is  fifteen  hours  to  Berlin  In 
railroad. 


END. 


UlrOD    LiDnnni 


A     000  525  451     1 


